Quhuo Limited (QH) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Good day, and welcome to the Quhuo Second Half of 2024 and Fiscal Year Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Please note this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Qishu Wang, Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Thank you, operator. Hello, everyone. Welcome to Quhuo's 2024 Full Year and Second Half Earnings Conference Call. The company's results were released earlier today and are available on our IR website. On the call today are Leslie Yu, Chairman and CEO; and CFO, Barry Ba. Leslie will review business operations and company highlights followed by Barry, who will discuss financials and guidance. They will be available to answer your questions in the Q&A session that follows. Before we begin, I would like to remind you that this call may contain forward-looking statements made under the safe harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are based on management's current expectations and current market and operating conditions and relate to the events that involve known or unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the company's control, which may cause the company's actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Further information regarding these or other risks, uncertainties and factors is included in the company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under the law. With that, I will now turn the call over to our Chairman and CEO, Mr. Leslie Yu. Please go ahead.

Thank you, Qishu, and thank you all for joining our 2024 earnings conference call. 2024 is a pivotal year for Quhuo as we embark on our strategic transformation. In the face of a complex and ever-changing market environment, we have chosen to define growth through value-driven strategies, replacing [indiscernible] with ecosystem empowerment, and breaking business boundaries through model innovation. Our goal is to achieve a path of corporate development that balances both commercial and social value. I will now share the company's performance and strategic achievements over the past year, focusing on the 3 themes of deepening, empowering and innovation and look ahead to the future vision of Quhuo. Firstly, the strategy of deepening is targeted at strengthening the business foundation and unlocking profit potential. In 2024, Quhuo achieved revenue of RMB 3 billion with adjusted EBITDA of RMB 9 million. The company demonstrated excellent performance with positive EBITDA for 3 consecutive fiscal years. Adjusted net income reached RMB 1.6 million. In terms of cost control, general and administrative expenses decreased by 19% year-on-year, reflecting our ongoing efforts to improve operational efficiency. R&D expenses decreased by 13% year-on-year with the IT team achieved continuous cost reduction and efficiency improvement through AI technology, optimizing labor input while ensuring [indiscernible] and upgrade of technology. This effort injected more resources into high potential business, driving the sales cycle of our business ecosystem. Since the second half of 2024, we have been focusing on deeply cultivating high-quality business and structurally enhancing profitability. In the second half of 2024, gross profit for bike maintenance and ride-hailing services grew by 15% and 216% year-on-year, respectively. The used vehicle export business has leveraged AI technology in the vehicle inspection process, achieving an intelligent upgrade of the inspection workflow. This has significantly improved individual operational efficiency, driving the gross profit margin of the business from 1.8% to 6.2%, with the gross profit increasing by 11.5% year-on-year. Our housekeeping and accommodation services restructured their operational system through our sales development booking platform, achieving an increase in gross profit margin from 26% to 36% throughout the year, continuously strengthening the profit contribution of the business line. In a complex and ever-changing market environment, we firmly believe that maintaining business quality amidst uncertainty will generate momentum for long-term development. Secondly, the strategy of empowering. The strategy of empowering is targeted at stimulating collaborative dynamics and driving ecosystem synergy. Since the launch of our used vehicle export business represented by Quhuo International in May 2023, it has quickly become a new growth engine for Quhuo in the past 1.5 years. By the end of 2024, Quhuo International had exported over 3,500 cars overseas to the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Western Asia and established Carnuxt a recognized used vehicle certification brand and service system. Leveraging our experience and technological accumulation in the local life service market, our used vehicle export business follows a "technology + resources" output model. By empowering overseas dealers with ride-hailing operational capabilities and building overseas operational centers and vehicle showrooms, we create a win-win ecosystem from vehicle procurement to local sales and operations. For example, in September 2024, we reached a strategic cooperation with Volt Auto an electric vehicle dealer in Azerbaijan. The mobility platform Bolt to jointly establish an Azerbaijan ride-hailing operation center. In addition to providing Chinese quite cost performance vehicle resources, we also improved the local ride-hailing operations in Azerbaijan collaboratively. On one hand, Quhuo International helps local partners achieve real-time route optimization and data analysis via its online SaaS platform, ensuring quick response to order demand while monitoring vehicle usage, including maintenance cycle and fuel consumption to ensure long-term operational performance. On the other hand, Quhuo International export its mature ride-hailing master management experience, providing offline training and hands-on guidance for local partners' operation staff, including precise matching of drivers and order demands, using AI data analysis to predict high-demand hotspot and achieve dynamic dispatching during actual operations. Through the comprehensive "technology + resources" export solution, local dealers in Azerbaijan can quickly match vehicles to ride-hailing companies enabling seamless integration from vehicle skills to match the application. This has increased the sales speed of all inventory vehicles and transformed the pure sales margin gains into vehicle leasing operational revenue. The success of "technology + resources" solution in Azerbaijan pilot not only drove our partner Volt Auto to place 3 additional orders, but also demonstrate the visibility of global replication of local solutions and highlighted the immense potential to lead supply chain partners in building ecological cooperation. In the future, we will replicate the Azerbaijan model in more overseas market throughout the technology and management empowerment. We will establish deep collaborative win-win relationships with upstream and downstream partners globally, building a global automotive export and operational ecosystem. Through this kind of cooperation, we have not only enhanced the operational efficiency of the supply chain, but also provided sustainable solutions for the international market, laying a solid foundation for future global business expansion. The third part, the strategy of innovation. The strategy of innovation is targeted at activating the existing network and opening new growth frontiers. Innovation has always been the core driving force of Quhuo's development. How to leverage innovation to expand the value of existing resources and break the revenue boundaries of current business is an ongoing challenge for enterprise growth. Through multidimensional exploration in product plus services, platform plus ecosystem and technology plus scenarios, Quhuo reached strategic cooperation with leading domestic food group, NIU World. Leveraging Quhuo's on-demand delivery network covering nearly 100 cities across China, we jointly built a distribution system for beef products, realizing the value-added value of the infrastructure network for delivery services, marking the transformation from service provider to supply chain enabler. In this partnership, we will combine NIU World's deep expertise in the beef supply chain with Quhuo's network advantage in on-demand delivery, jointly promoting the implementation of the on-demand production real-time fulfillment model in the restaurant beef supply chain. Specifically, after merchants place and pay for their orders, NIU World will prepare the beef according to demand, complete the cutting, packaging and cold chain processing and use Quhuo's on-demand delivery network to quickly deliver fresh beef to restaurants. We expect this model to significantly reduce intermediate storage processes ensuring beef freshness while reducing merchants inventory pressure and enhancing overall supply chain efficiency. Additionally, through our proprietary Quhuo+ technology platform, we have optimized delivery routes to achieve precise matching of delivery capacity, enabling NIU World beef products to reach end customers within hours after slaughter. Following successful pilot launch, this model will be gradually scaled and contribute significant revenue in the future. It marks a key upgrade of our on-demand delivery business from basic fulfillment services to supply chain empowerment and is becoming a new growth driver for the company. In the future, Quhuo will further explore and refine this new catering supply chain model based on its infrastructure and site network in on-demand delivery. The partnership with NIU World is just a starting point, and this model is expected to be extended to other catering sectors with high requirements for ingredient preservation, providing flexible and efficient supply chain services from more food suppliers and restaurant businesses. While pursuing commercial value, we always keep in mind the company's social responsibility. As of 2024, Quhuo platform has provided flexible employment opportunities for over 830,000 workers from delivery riders to B&B housekeepers. We not only provide jobs, but also create a safety net for them through commercial insurance and vocational training. At the same time, our business innovations are creating long-term social value. The new energy vehicles exported overseas reduced carbon emission by tens of thousands of tons annually and the fresh beef direct supply chain model with NIU World reduces ingredient wastage for restaurants. In 2024, Quhuo's strategy was deeply integrated into stabilizing cash flow business as a foundation and expanding business through innovation, driving the company's continuous development with both commercial success and social value. We will continue to optimize operating models and resources allocation, seize key market opportunities and create more social value while generating business value. That concludes my remarks. Next, I will hand the call over to our CFO, who will provide a detailed overview of our financial performance. Thank you.

Thanks, Leslie. Hello, everyone. This is Barry. I'm the CFO of Quhuo Group. Welcome to Quhuo's Second Half Year of 2024 Conference Call. Please be reminded all amounts told here will be RMB unless stated otherwise. Before I delve into our full year results, I would like to draw your attention to something notable that occurred during the second half of 2024. Total revenue was RMB 1,426.9 million compared with total revenue of RMB 1,966.1 million in the second half of 2023, representing a decrease of 27.4%. Revenues from on-demand food delivery solutions were RMB 1,329.4 million compared with RMB 1,763.2 million in the second half of 2023. representing a decrease of 24.6%. The decrease was primarily because we optimized our business by disposing some of several underperforming service stations, which led to a decrease in the revenue scale. Revenue from mobility service solutions consisting of shared-bike maintenance, ride-hailing, vehicle export solutions and freight service solutions were RMB 74.7 million compared with RMB 174.3 million in the second half of 2023, representing a decrease of 57.4%. The decrease was primarily due to a decrease in the units of vehicles sold in our vehicle export solutions business. Revenues from housekeeping and accommodation solutions and other services were RMB 22.9 million compared with RMB 27.5 million in the second half of 2023, primarily due to the decrease in housekeeping service for hotels as a result of our shift of focus to other business model. Cost of revenue was RMB 1,378 million, representing a year-over-year decrease of 26.2%, primarily in line with the decrease in our total revenue. G&A expense were RMB 77.8 million, representing a significant decrease of 24.2% from RMB 102.7 million in the second half of 2023. The decrease were primarily driven by: first, a decline in the professional service fee from RMB 44.5 million in the second half of 2023 to RMB 22.6 million in the second half of 2024. And second, a reduction of welfare and business development expense and office expense from RMB 21.4 million in the second half of 2023 to RMB 16.1 million in the second half of 2024. These savings were largely the result of our effective expense control through engagement of more cost-effective service providers, elimination of unnecessary costs and the optimization of our employee role and responsibilities. R&D expense remained relatively stable at RMB 5.8 million in the second half of 2024 and RMB 5.7 million in the second half of 2023. Our other income net was RMB 0.4 million in the second half of 2024 and RMB 10.7 million in the second half of 2023, primarily due to the disposal of investment in the mutual fund. Income tax benefit were RMB 15.7 million as compared to income tax expense of RMB 1.5 million in the second half of 2023, primarily due to the reversal of unrecognized tax benefits recognized in previous years that have been passed the retroactive period. Net income attributable to Quhuo Limited was RMB 48.1 million compared with net income attributable to Quhuo Limited of RMB 11.7 million in the second half of 2023. Adjusted EBITDA was RMB 43.8 million compared with adjusted EBITDA of RMB 24.1 million in the second half of 2023. Adjusted net income was RMB 4.8 million compared with adjusted net income of RMB 7.4 million in the second half of 2023. Now let's move on to the full year of 2024. During the fiscal year of 2024, total revenue were RMB 3,046.8 million, a decrease of 17.7% compared with total revenue of RMB 3,702.4 million in 2023. Revenue from on-demand food delivery solutions were RMB 2,828.5 million compared with RMB 3,412.8 million in 2023, representing a decrease of 17.1%. The decrease was primarily due to the optimization of our business by disposing of several underperforming service stations, which led to a decrease in revenue scale. Revenue from mobility service solutions were RMB 175.1 million compared with RMB 233.8 million in 2023, representing a decrease of 25.1%. The decrease was primarily due to the reduction in vehicles sold in our vehicle export solutions business. Revenues from housekeeping and accommodation solutions and other service were RMB 43.2 million compared with RMB 55.7 million in 2023, primarily due to the decrease of housekeeping service for the hotels as a result of our shift of focus to other business model. Cost of revenue were RMB 2,973.2 million, representing a year-over-year decrease of 15.9%, generally in line with the decrease of our total revenue. G&A expense were RMB 148.6 million in 2024, representing a decrease of 19.4% from RMB 184.3 million in 2023. This reduction was due to one -- first, a decrease in professional service fee from RMB 66.7 million in 2023 to RMB 37.2 million in 2024; and second, a decrease in welfare and business development expense and office expense from RMB 38.6 million in 2023 to RMB 28.4 million in 2024. These savings reflect our expense control measures, including more cost-effective service providers, eliminating unnecessary costs and optimizing employee roles and responsibilities. R&D expense were RMB 10.7 million in 2024, representing a decrease of 13.7% from RMB 12.4 million in 2023, primarily due to a lower average compensation level for our research and development personnel resulting from the restructuring of our R&D team. Other expense net was RMB 2.6 million in 2024 as compared to other income net of RMB 16.7 million in 2023, primarily due to the fluctuation in the fair value of our investment in the mutual fund in 2023. Income tax benefit was RMB 18.3 million in 2024 as compared to RMB 0.9 million in 2023, primarily due to the reversal of unrecognized tax benefit recognized in previous years that has passed the retroactive period. Net income attributable to Quhuo Limited was RMB 1.6 million in 2024 as compared to RMB 6 million in 2023. Adjusted EBITDA was RMB 9.1 million in 2024 as compared to adjusted EBITDA of RMB 35.2 million in 2023. Adjusted net income was RMB 1.9 million in 2024 as compared to RMB 5.5 million in 2023. In terms of balance sheet at December 31, 2024, the company has cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash of RMB 65.1 million and short-term debt of RMB 112.8 million. This concludes my prepared remarks. Thank you for your attention. We are now pleased to take your questions. Operator, please go ahead taking questions.