BlueCity Holdings Limited, China's leading online LGBTQ platform, saw a 32.2 percent increase in total revenue from a year earlier in the second quarter, with its net loss significantly improved, according to the unaudited financial report for Q2 on Wednesday.

The financial report, which is also the first earnings release since its listing on NASDAQ last month, shows 247.4 million yuan (35.0 million U.S. dollars) in total revenue in Q2, an increase of 32.2 percent over the same period last year.

During the same period, its net loss was 3.3 million yuan, a significant improvement compared with a net loss of 12.2 million yuan in the second quarter of 2019.

Monthly active users (MAUs) on the Blued mobile app reached 6.4 million, increasing by 11.2 percent from the same period last year, with total paying users growing by 58.5 percent year-over-year.

Zhiyong (Ben) Li, BlueCity's chief financial officer, said the financial report shows "a great start as a newly public company despite challenges related to COVID-19 and geopolitical uncertainties," adding that the company is pleased to deliver a strong quarter with solid operational and financial growth.

BlueCity also announced its purchase of Chinese lesbian dating app LESDO on Wednesday, marking the first-ever deal within the country's LGBT market.

Launched in 2014, LESDO is an app for lesbian users to socialize and secure dates. It is believed to be the second most popular lesbian social app in China based on Reuters' interviews among customers after another app, Rela, which was briefly taken offline in 2017.

"We can see the scale of existing lesbian apps are not big enough to meet the demand of a sizable market," BlueCity's founder and chief executive Ma Baoli said in an interview with Reuters on Tuesday. The company declined to disclose the financial details of the deal.

Ma said one of his main focuses with the acquisition would be to win back customers who had left LESDO for other lesbian apps, adding that BlueCity would offer marketing guidance, financing and algorithm support to boost LESDO's performance and image.

BlueCity has maintained a benign dynamic with China's regulators. In 2012, Ma had face-to-face discussions with now Premier Li Keqiang for Blued's contribution to combating the spread of HIV on the Chinese mainland.

"We will make sure LESDO's content can comply with authorities' regulations," Ma said.

On July 8, the Beijing-based company that provides a variety of services to the LGBTQ community and raised 84.8 million U.S. dollars on its Nasdaq debut was valued at 614 million U.S. dollars.

(With input from Reuters)