Niu Technologies (NIU) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. Welcome to Niu Technologies Fourth Quarter 2024 Earnings Release Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. If you have any objections, you may disconnect at this time. I would like now to turn the conference over to Kristal Li, Investor Relations Manager of Niu Technologies. Ms. Li, please go ahead.

Thank you, operator. Hello, everyone. Welcome to today's conference call to discuss Niu Technologies' results for the fourth quarter and full year 2024. The earnings press release, corporate presentation and financial spreadsheet has been posted on our Investor Relations website. This call is being webcast from our company's IR site as well, and a replay of the call will be available soon. Please note, today's discussion will contain forward-looking statements made under the safe harbor provision of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors. The company's actual results may be materially different from those expressed today. Further information regarding the risk factors included in the company's public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by law. Our earnings press release and this call include discussions of certain non-GAAP financial measures and press release contain a definition of non-GAAP financial measures and reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP financial results. On the call with me today are our CEO, Dr. Yan Li; and CFO, Ms. Fion Zhou. Now let me turn the call over to CEO, Yan.

Thank you, Kristal. Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining us today. So in the fourth quarter of 2024, we achieved a total sales volume of 226,600 units, marking a significant 65% year-over-year growth. Behind this strong performance was 65% year-over-year increase in sales volume in China, reaching 182,000 units and a 64% year-over-year growth in overseas, with 44,000 units sold. Total revenue for the fourth quarter was RMB 819 million, reflecting a 71% increase compared with same period last year. Those results closed out the financial year for 2024 on a strong note. For the full year, we recorded total sales volume of 924,000 units, representing a 30% year-over-year increase. Total revenue for the year reached RMB 3.29 billion, up 24% from 2023. This rebound in growth underscores the effectiveness of our strategic initiatives. Throughout 2024, we remained focused on expanding our product offerings, strengthening sales channels and broaden our market reach. Our return on growth trajectory is a testament on all those efforts. As we build on this momentum, we remain committed to refine our strategy to achieve ambitious target and adapt to evolving market dynamics. So taking a closer look at our performance in China. Sales volume reached 182,000 units in this quarter. Our focused product portfolio emphasized our technology innovation, expanded sales channel and the targeted market initiatives were key drivers for the strong domestic performance. For the entire year of 2024, we remain laser-focused in refining our signature product lineup, emphasizing our core N, M and U series, while also introduced the new F-Series as a key addition. We expanded our best seller strategy, further strengthening our leadership in the mid- to high-end segments with a robust and competitive product portfolios. Beyond innovation, we took an extra step to prioritize product safety by subjecting our models to rigorous testing standard. U became the first brand in the market to receive a 5-star safety certification from China Merchant Vehicle Research Institute. In 2024, we continued to elevate our legacy of N-Series, reinforcing our status as Niu's most recognized and best-seller product line across multiple market segments. At the premium end, we introduced the NX and NXT series, the most powerful and high-performance 2-wheeler Niu has ever produced. Built on the shared platform, the NX and NXT incorporated our most advanced smart riding technologies, including the dual-channel ABS, a full color TFT display with screen mirror and navigation, millimeter wave radar and adaptive traction control, setting a new standard for performance and safety. Within this lineup, the NX Hyper stands as a flagship model engineered from racing enthusiast, featuring a motor with a peak output of 29 kilowatts, a top speed of 135 kilometer per hour and the state-of-the-art suspension braking system, delivering exceptional rider experience. With the top performance of NX, it's also built with riding safety in mind. The NX is the first electric motorcycle in China to earn a 5-star safety certification. Beyond the high-performance NX and NXT series, we also expanded the N-Series lineup earlier this year with the launch of N-Play, NT Play. The stylish and compact model quickly gained popularity among young riders for their affordability and trend driving design. The N-Play electric motorcycle and NT-Play electric bicycle retain the iconic N-Series look while incorporating smart features such as keyless ignition, TCS traction control and push assist, significantly enhancing riders' convenience and safety. With those additions, the N-Series now span from lightweight electric bicycles to high-performance motorcycles, making it in Niu the most diverse and best-selling product line. In 2024, the N-Series alone accounted for 39% of our total sales volume in China, a substantial increase from just 5% in 2023, demonstrating a strong market demand and the effectiveness of our focused product strategy. Besides N-Series, we also built a success on top of our M models. We have further strengthened our M-Series by launching an upgraded version of our classic model. In 2024, we introduced the new MT as the evolution of M-Series with a fresh and trend-focused upgrade design for the Gen Z users. Retaining the classic M-Series design language, the MT introduced new color options, enhanced the rider comfort and smart features. Its lightweight and compact frame make it ideal for female riders and first-time users. And the last signature series we focused on upgrading is our U series. We launched 2 core products during 2024, the U Max and U1E. The U Max is a product designed for young riders who seek a blend of style, comfort and high performance. With a larger form factor, UMax enhance visual appeals and writing comfort, it boost an impressive 160-kilometer range and the boost driving mode for rapid acceleration. The U1E is our first female-focused scooter, which upgrades with new color schemes, ergonomic improvement in handle and seat positions and easy-to-use smart functionalities and also option to include a baby seat amongst accessories. Now besides the N, M, U series, in 2024, we further expanded our core lineup with the launch of FX motorcycles, which has quickly become a recognizable established alternative alongside our classic Halo light N, M, U series. The FX series embodied a sporty design featuring eagle eye headlights and intricate design details, adding sophistications and bold presence to its lineup. The FX Pro version leading in performance equipped with 45-amp power batteries, a 1,500 watts motor and top speed of 55 kilometer per hour and an impressive range of 130 kilometers. The FX series is also debuted as part of co-branding initiative with Game for Peace, one of the China's top mobile gaming with 70 million MAUs. This collaboration introduced a limited edition model inspired by the games look, providing fans and riders with unique blend of style, performance and cultural relevance. The co-branded FX series strengthen Niu's position in pop culture, expanding brand awareness and engagement among younger riders. Now by focusing on our core series and the strategic launch products tailored to specific customers' needs, we have reinforced our leadership in urban mobility. The market's strong reception of models underscore the effectiveness of our focused product strategy driving both volume growth and brand recognition. In 2024, our core product series, the N, M, U, and F accounted for 87% of our total sales volume in China. Now looking forward in 2025, we remain committed in our focused product strategy, enhance our core new product series while ensuring a broader market coverage to meet the diverse needs of riders. We have exciting new products in pipeline, incorporate innovations and key upgrades to adapt the evolving market dynamics and specific user demands. Alongside with our product strategy, our commitment to develop cutting-edge technology is also reflected in the significant investment and progress we have made. In 2024, we were focused on enhancing the riding technology, including key features such as dual-channel ABS, screen meter navigation, millimeter wave radar, full color TFT display with Magic wheel, all of which has been well received by our users. In 2025, we are further advancing rider intelligence with focus on 3 core pillars: the seamless riding experience, the AI smart control and assistance and the smart ecosystems. Those innovations will redefine the riding experience, bringing a new level of intelligence, safety and connectivity to our scooters. To create a more seamless and intuitive interaction between riders and scooters, we plan to smart hardware advancement that prioritize personalization, convenience and intelligence, such as building high-definition touch screen with integrated operating systems. Our AI-driven riding assistance enhanced responsiveness and adaptability such as voice and gesture-based control. And last but not least, our smart ecosystem broaden the functionality of our new product through partnerships with third-party ecosystems. Now alongside our product technology advancement, we have made significant strides in expanding our sales channels, ensuring our product reach a broader consumer base. With a strong focus on penetrating the previously underrepresented market in China, we have strategically expanded our retail footprint. In 2024, we successfully opened approximately 900 new stores, leveraging the momentum from our new product launches and refreshed brand positioning. Among those 900 stores, around 50% of them opened in the Tier 3 cities, representing our effort in expanding the lower-tier cities. Now with the regained channel momentum in 2025, we plan to open another 1,000 to 1,500 stores, further strengthening our market presence. As our sales channel expansion accelerates, we expect to see a direct impact on sales volume growth in this coming quarters. Now in 2024, we focused our marketing effort on targeting premium consumers and Gen Z riders, further solidifying Niu's brand presence through a key product launches, strategic IP collaboration and extensive social media outreach. Those initiatives have strengthened the brand recognition. In August, we received official certification from authorized Market Research Institute recognized Niu as a leading global brand in premium smart electric 2-wheelers. To mark the launch of NX Hyper, we debuted with a series of high-profile ride tests, including the China first track standard test drive event for electric 2-wheelers. Held in Beijing, this event attracted over 100 media professionals, industry experts and influencers, providing an unparalleled first-time experience of NX Hyper exceptional performance. By setting a new performance benchmark within the electric motorcycle segment, the NX Hyper has reinforced Niu's premium brand positioning. To broaden our brand influence and deepen our connection with Gen Z consumers, we leveraged high-impact IP collaborations, including eSports partnership, active participation in animation exhibitions and a series of offline campus events across 130-plus universities. One of our most significant collaboration was with Game of Peace, a top mobile game with 70 million MAUs. Through this partnership, Niu introduced 2 co-branded scooters featuring Game Inspire theme and a limited edition design seamlessly blended the digital entertainment with a real-world riding experience. In 2024, we also implemented a matrix marketing approach to enhance the brand communication and digital engagement. Our strategy integrated Niu's own original brand content across the 4 official brand accounts, the original customized content with 40-plus localized accounts and the store-level self-operated content across 3,000-plus store accounts, creating a scalable and highly effective social media matrix. This multi-tiered strategy has generated over 20 billion views, marking a 5x increase compared to our 2023 effort. Now turning to the overseas market. The overseas market witnessed a substantial 64% growth in sales volume in Q4 and reaching a 52% volume growth in the full year 2024. This year, Niu's overseas segment demonstrated strong growth driven by strategic market expansion and operational optimization. We continue to develop our 2 core product lines, electric 2-wheelers and the micro mobility while strengthening our foundation in product innovation, operation and brand positioning. In the electric 2-wheeler segment, we leveraged our cutting-edge technology and unique design products, adapting them to local market needs. A key focus in 2024 was establishing direct distribution operation in our core markets such as Germany, Italy, France and the United States. We laid the foundation for direct distribution by setting up local entities, hiring team, onboarding partners and developing a localized sales network. With the infrastructure in place, we expand our sales network to over 120 active dealers by year-end and plan to double this number by first half of 2025. Our electric 2-wheeler product lineup in 2024 also spent daily commuting electric moped to high-speed and high-performance electric motorcycles. In Q4 2024, we showcased our key electric motorcycles at EICMA in Milan, Italy, reinforce our presence in the premium electric motorcycle space. As part of our product expansion strategy, we launched the NX Series, the international version of MX premium motorcycle and the F-Series, the global adaptation of our F-Series. Both product lines were well received in the key market, generating industry attention and strong preorders. We also upgraded our off-road motorcycle XQi3 with OTA upgrade, a boost power to 10.6 kilowatts, improved acceleration and reached a top speed of 80 kilometer per hour. Our XQi3 has also received the prestige IF Design Awards 2025, making another legendary new product. Now for the micromobility market, in 2024, we prioritized expanding retail channels in key markets, strengthening our sales network and market presence. The expansion drove a significant volume growth. Our retail footprint now includes 800-plus stores in Best Buy, 160 stores in Walmart and 1,000 stores in Kohl's and 200 stores in MediaMarkt in Germany and a full coverage in [ Expert ], ensure wide accessibility with greater brand visibility across major global retail chains. However, on the micromobility market, we faced significant headwinds in 2024 due to the U.S. tariff increase on the China export, which rose from 0% to 25% last year on the key micromobility product. The sudden cost surge eroded margins leading to a negative gross margin on our products shipped from China to the U.S. for the large part of the year in 2024. To mitigate those challenges, we initiated setting up production of U.S. version of kick scooters and micromobility product in Southeast Asia starting in the second half of Q4 -- second half of 2024. Now in January 2025, we successfully shipped our first South Asia local manufacturing units to the United States, marking a crucial step towards supply chain optimization. Looking forward, we remain highly optimistic about the China market and overseas market. Now for the China market, building on the strong foundation established in 2024, on the product side over the past year, we refocused our product portfolio around our core N, M, U and F-Series, reinforcing our leadership in key market segments. Our smart technology advancements have also shown early signs of success with strong traction from customers and a clear road map for further innovations in 2025. We're also standardizing our key product platforms, which will improve the R&D process and also reduce the BOM cost. This will help us to improve the gross margin in the China market, which already reflected the early success in Q1 2025. The technology advancement and standardized platform has also prepared us well to roll out 2 new series for 2025 in China, one to address the new electric bicycle standard in China and one to address the premium motorcycles. On the sales channel in China, we have also regained channel momentum as we added around 900 stores in 2024 for the first time in the last 3 years. We're in the process of rolling out the new VI upgrade for our retail stores, which will be implemented for the 1,000 and 1,500 new stores targeted this year. Now lastly, with the new product rollout, the channel expansion, we also plan to increase our branding and marketing efforts significantly in 2025 in China, targeting a broader range of consumer segments, both online and offline. We plan to ride this momentum gained in the key social media platform in 2024 and triple our online exposures in 2025. We have observed early signs in fast growth in Q1 this year with our retail sales year-to-date increased by 50% plus. We plan to continue to ride this growth momentum for the rest of the year. Now for the overseas market in 2025, we expect our strategic effort to drive tangible growth across key markets. The electric 2-wheeler segment is poised for a strong rebound with our initial operation setup completed and a well-established local sales network now in place. All the key products are already debuted in EICMA 2024 and received well response from dealers and consumers. The upgraded XQi3 will also provide additional growth catalyst for the off-road motorcycle market. The 120 existing dealers and additional 100-plus new dealers will help to drive the retail growth. For the micromobility market, we have reached a solid retail coverage in the key countries by end of 2024. Those will provide a solid foundation for the baseline growth for 2025. In addition, we expect to enter new retailers in key markets such as Italy, France and the United States. While the kick scooter market has faced a short-term challenges due to the increased tariffs, our supply chain adjustments are now fully implemented, position us to restore profitability and drive sustainable growth in the coming quarters. Now with those initiatives in place, we expect to reach 1.3 million to 1.6 million unit sales for the year of 2025. With that, let me turn the call to Fion.

Thank you, Yan, and hello, everyone. Please note that our press release contains all the figures and comparisons you need, and we have also uploaded Excel format figures to our IR website for your easy reference. As I review our financial results, I'm referring to the fourth quarter figures unless I say otherwise, and all monetary figures are in RMB, if not specified. As Yan just mentioned, our total sales volume for the fourth quarter was 227,000 units, an increase of 65% compared to the same period of last year. Specifically speaking, China sales volume was 182,000 units, 80% of the total sales volume and overseas was 44,000 units, taking around 20% of the total sales volume. And for the full year 2024, the total sales volume was 924,000 units, including 759,000 units in China and 165,000 units overseas. Total revenue for the fourth quarter was RMB 819 million, up 71% compared to the same period of last year. To break down the scooter revenues by ranging, scooter revenues in China was RMB 646 million, up 82% year-over-year and represented 88% of the total scooter revenues. The increase was mainly due to the increased sales volume and revenue per scooter in China. China e-scooter ASP reached 3,544, 15% higher on a quarter-over-quarter basis and 10% higher on a year-over-year basis. The overseas scooter revenue, including kick-scooters, e-mopeds and e-motorcycles were RMB 87 million, representing 12% of the total e-scooter revenues. The blended scooter ASP decreased from -- to nearly RMB 2,000, down around 10% year-over-year and mainly driven by the higher sales contribution of the kick scooters. Accessories, spare parts and services revenue were RMB 86 million, up 33% year-over-year and representing nearly 10% of the total revenues. The increase was mainly due to an increase in accessory spare parts sales in both China and international markets. For the full year 2024, the total revenue increased by 24% to RMB 3.3 billion. China scooter revenue as a whole saw a nearly 28% year-over-year lift to RMB 2.6 billion. The overseas scooter revenue increased by 14% to RMB 397 million. The total overseas revenue, including scooters and non-scooters contributed to nearly 13% of the total revenues. And let's take a look at ASP in 2024. The overall scooter ASP saw a slightly decrease from 3,323 to 3,203. Among this, the China scooter ASP increased from 3,344 to 3,377 and driven by an increase in proportion of the premium series sales volume, which has a higher ASP. The overseas blended scooter ASP was RMB 2,402, a 25% decrease due to the change in the overseas product mix with the kick scooter accounting for approximately 98% of the total overseas scooter sales volume. And the gross margin for the fourth quarter was 12.4%, a decrease of 6.6 ppt compared to the same period of last year, and the decline in the overall gross margin was primarily driven by the shift in the overseas product mix and 25% in the U.S. tariff, both of which we mentioned last quarter. In addition, the year-end overseas holiday season incentives further impacted the margin this quarter. And these 3 factors negatively impacted both overseas and overall gross margins. However, the China gross margin improved by 1.5 ppt compared to last quarter. For the full year 2024, our gross margin was 15.2%, down from 21.5% in the previous year, representing a year-over-year decline of 6.3 ppt, a 2.6 ppt decrease driven by the overseas factors, a lower margin product mix and the 25% U.S. tariff and the platform incentives during the holiday seasons and the other 3.7 ppt gross margin declined driven by the domestic market as we continue to allocate a portion of our margins to support the domestic distribution partners. Additionally, our premium lead acid motorcycles yield lower margins compared to the same tier lithium-ion models. Fourth quarter OpEx was RMB 193 million, RMB 53 million lower than the same period of last year. Selling and marketing expenses were RMB 136 million, RMB 55 million lower than last year and mainly due to the decrease in rental and advertising and promotion activities in the overseas market. Research and development expenses were RMB 39 million, RMB 3 million higher than the fourth quarter of 2023, mainly due to the increase in staff costs and share-based compensation. And G&A expenses were RMB 18 million, around RMB 1 million lower on an annual basis, mainly due to the decrease in allowance of doubtful accounts of RMB 1 million. For the full year 2024, the OpEx was RMB 750 million, 16% lower than 2023, and operating expenses as a percentage of revenue was nearly 23%. Selling and marketing expenses were RMB 490 million, RMB 6 million lower than last year and about 15% of the revenues. Research and development expenses were RMB 130 million, RMB 21 million lower than last year, about 4% of revenues. And G&A expenses were RMB 131 million, around RMB 114 million lower than last year, about 4% of revenues. Non-GAAP OpEx were RMB 727 million, representing 22% of revenue compared to 32% in 2023. In the fourth quarter, we had a net loss of RMB 73 million and non-GAAP net loss of RMB 67 million. On a full year basis, we had a net loss of RMB 193 million and non-GAAP net loss of RMB 169 million. Turning to our balance sheet and cash flow. We ended the year with RMB 1.1 billion in cash, restricted cash, term deposit and short-term investments. On an annual basis, operating cash flow was inflow of RMB 55 million, primarily because we made a net income after adjusting for noncash items. And our Q4 CapEx was RMB 38 million. For the full year, CapEx was RMB 120 million, RMB 41 million higher than last year because of the store expansion and module cost in the domestic market. And now let's turn to guidance. We expect the first quarter revenue will be in the range of RMB 631 million to RMB 707 million, an increase of 25% to 40% year-over-year, and the sales volume for 2025 are expected to be in the range of 1.3 million to 1.6 million units, as Yan just mentioned. Please be aware that this outlook is based on the information available as of the date and reflects the company's current and preliminary expectations, which is subject to change due to uncertainties related to various factors. And with that, let's now open the call for any questions that you may have for us. Operator, please go ahead.

[Operator Instructions] And the first question comes from Yating Chen with CICC.

This is Yating from CICC, and I have 2 questions. The first question is what is your sales target for kick scooters in 2025? And considering the difficulty of achieving profitability in the kick scooter business, what is your long-term plan for this business? This is my first question.

Right. So I think it's a good question. So for the kick scooters, we're looking at probably -- last year, we did about 160,000-plus units. So we're looking at anywhere between roughly 30% growth to -- 30% to 50% growth for 2025. I think with the kick scooter business, I think investors are too concerned about profitability. The issue with the last couple of years are -- one is actually due to the high U.S. tariff unexpected. And as we mentioned in the call, that's been actually addressed -- starting to address last year, but really the first scooter being out of market is really from Southeast Asia manufacturing is actually January this year. And actually, the tariff went up even higher from 25% to potential 45% this year. So all players or all products, all players actually increased the retail price in the United States. So that actually basically gave us a good room for margins. So we expect the kick scooters actually to return profitable this year.

Okay. And my second question is about domestic market. Considering your new product planning and the channel expansion plans, what is your outlook for average selling price and the gross profit margin in domestic market in 2025 because we have seen a significant decline of gross profit margin in 4Q '24.

Okay. This is Fion. I'll take this question. Actually, in 2025, we already finished the quarter 1. Due to the trends from the consumer market, our high-end or so-called the premium series products are still popular in our -- from our consumers' demand, which means the retail price. The majority of our sales are coming from the retail price above RMB 5,000. This is maintained the same level in 2024. And this year, since we are going to launch several series of the new models, as Yan just mentioned, to demonstrate our product smart functions and also the design advantages, we are going to maintain the high-end market player in the 2-wheeler market in the domestic market. And we expect the ASP in the domestic market will not drop, but we may expect a slightly increase in our ASP in the domestic market, but not a dramatic increase in the ASP. Since right now, our premium series are almost 70% in our domestic sales. So in 2025, we expect the concentration among the premium and mass premium product series, which will help us to get that slightly increase in the ASP in domestic market. And talking about the gross margin in the domestic market, actually, along with the sales volume in the domestic market increase, we may get the benefit from the scale of economy, especially in the BOM cost and also the other production costs like the staff cost and the amortization on the module cost, those non-BOM cost, which will help us to improve the gross margin in the domestic market product. And we also think about the extra portion of the margin give up to our sales distributor partners, we may think about to regain those gross profits from 2025. But it's still in the decision-making process, along with the new stores opened continued, if we get the success store expansion, we will delay those profit came back. And -- but both factors will give us an upside in the gross margin, either of them will help us improve the domestic gross margin. So regarding the ASP and gross margin, we will expect a positive effect in 2025.

It's very clear, and we are -- and we expect the company's -- the positive change in 2024-2025.

[Operator Instructions] And our next question will come from [ Alan Lee ] with Guotai Junan Securities.

Okay. Can you hear me?

Yes, clearly. Please go ahead.

Okay. I have 2 questions here. The first one is that we have provided guidance on annual sales, which showed a high growth rate. May I ask if you can provide guidance on the expected net profit margin by 2025? And how much net profit margin can the company achieve within 2 or 3 years?

Well, actually, 2025 is a recovering year to us. And we are not going to share the net profit with the market yet. But 2025, we are able to get the profitability overall for the overall listing [ call ]. But we will -- since we are going to release the quarter results every quarter, this frequency is good enough for the investors to follow us on the performance on the net profit. So normally, we will follow the general practice as the other U.S. listing company. We only provided the guidance to the sales volume, not the top line. Top line, we will give the guidance every quarter.

Okay. And my second question is that, which quarter in 2025 is expected to see the company's net profit come from loss to profit?

Well, good question. Actually, the quarter -- first quarter is the last quarter in our industry. This industry is quite seasonal. So for the other competitors, actually, the first quarter is the next season as well. We expected to see the quarterly profit in the second quarter, which means from April to June, those 3 months, we will get the quarterly profits this year. Actually, the second quarter is also kind of like the second peak quarter every year. It will contain around 25% to 30% of the revenue each year. And also for the international market, the second quarter, no matter the weather or the logistics, are back into the normal level. And both the domestic market and the international market are right on the right track in the second quarter. So we expected the second quarter will be the profit.

At this time, I show no further questions in the queue. I would now like to turn the call back over to Mr. Li for closing remarks.

Thank you, operator, and thank you all for participating in today's call and for your support. We appreciate your interest and look forward to reporting to you again next quarter on our progress. Thank you.

This does conclude today's conference call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.