(Yicai Global) Sept. 16 -- China's iQiyi opts for modest growth in the second half to achieve profitability this year, according to the chief of the Netflix-like video site operator.

After optimizing costs and improving its efficiency in the first half, the video platform will change its strategy to target "calm growth" through the rest of this year, Gong Yu, founder and chief executive of the Beijing-based company, said during an annual conference yesterday.

The current business environment does not support rapid growth so iQiyi needs to make adjustments quickly to focus on core businesses, the CEO said. Calm growth refers to expansion without a significant cash burn rate, Gong explained. It means that value provided to clients and users grows faster than profits while gains rise quicker than revenues, he added.

The prudent strategy can better align the interests of users, customers, and stakeholders, Gong said, adding that it should help the firm make its business more healthy and drive its profit and revenue growth in the future.

iQiyi has more confidence in what to do in the second half and next year after the stress test in the first half, the CEO said. The firm will increase its investments in content, marketing, and branding, providing its audiences with richer and more diverse content, he said. It will cut back on inefficient businesses in a bid to achieve its goal of profitability this year, he added.

The company had some new releases to share. At the conference, iQiyi revealed a list of 235 titles covering genres of drama, variety shows, movies, gaming, and sports. The CEO envisioned future trends, including cloud cinema, intelligent production, free video-sharing business Suike, as well as augmented reality and virtual reality products.

The platform trimmed its net loss by 85 percent to CNY214 million (USD30.5 million) in the three months ended June from a year ago, according to its earnings report published on Aug. 30. Operating income tallied CNY125.8 million, compared to an operating loss of CNY1.1 billion (USD156.8 million). The number of daily subscribers was 98.3 million, down from 99.2 million.

iQiyi's stock price [NASDAQ: IQ] slipped 1.8 percent in pre-market trading as of 5.03 p.m. Beijing time after declining by 3.8 percent to USD3.34 yesterday. The shares are more than a quarter down this year.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi