(Yicai Global) June 17 -- Tiktok operator Bytedance Technology, which has never released a financial statement to date, saw revenue more than double in 2020 from the year before, and is operating at a deficit, online news portal The Paper reported today, citing a company internal document.

Bytedance, which also runs the Chinese version of Tiktok, Douyin, news aggregator Toutiao and a few other short video platforms, logged revenue of CNY236.6 billion (USD36.8 billion) in 2020 and racked up losses of CNY14.7 billion (USD2.3 billion), the report said. No further details were given and Beijing-based Bytedance has declined to comment.

Reports in the overseas media in January had projected 2020 revenue to be around USD35 billion.

“The company is entering a new phase as it grows into a larger one. We wish to become more transparent and more open both internally and externally, so our business data and financial statements will be made public to all staff members, including revenue and profits,” Chief Executive Liang Rubo said in the memo.

There were 1.9 billion monthly active users worldwide on Bytedance’s various platforms at the end of last year, the report said. Bytedance operates in over 150 countries worldwide and in 35 languages. It has offices in more than 30 nations in Asia, America and Europe and employs 110,000 people from all over the world.

Editor: Kim Taylor