Tongcheng-Elong released its financial results for the first quarter of 2021.
Key Highlights
• Revenue increased by 60.6% year-to-year to RMB1,613.8 million from RMB1,005.1 million in the same period of 2020.
• Adjusted EBITDA increased by 162.7% year-to-year to RMB417.4 million from RMB158.9 million in the same period of 2020. Adjusted EBITDA margin increased from 15.8% in the same period of 2020 to 25.9%.
• Adjusted profit for the period increased by 279.5% year-to-year to RMB296.3 million from RMB78.1 million in the same period of 2020. Adjusted net margin increased from 7.8% in the same period of 2020 to 18.4%.
• Average MAUs increased by 57.8% year-to-year from 148.4 million in same period of 2020 to 234.2 million.
• Average MPUs increased by 84.5% year-to-year from 14.8 million in the same period of 2020 to 27.3 million.
• Paying users for the twelve-month period ended March 31, 2021 increased by 12.9% year-to-year from 149.9 million in the same twelve-month period of 2020 to 169.3 million.
Business Review and Outlook
The resurgence of the COVID-19 cases in late 2020 in certain regions of China has imposed negative effects on the travel industry in January and February 2021. In order to prevent the virus from further spreading, the government encouraged the Stay Put During Spring Festival measure and inter-provincial travels in China were temporarily halted. All the market players operated in a very challenging environment. However, the spread of virus has been effectively controlled and the market started to recover since March 2021, bringing increasing demand for delayed hometown visits, business travel, and leisure travel.
As an industry leader with strong adaptability, Tongcheng-Elong reacted swiftly to market changes and acutely captured the recovery opportunities. Tongcheng-Elong continued to outperform the industry with its competitive advantages in terms of solid market position, diversified traffic sources, product innovation capability and flexible operation strategies. Even amid the fluctuated market environment, business continued to improve quarter by quarter and once again outpaced the market average. For the three months ended March 31, 2021, average MAUs increased by 57.8% year-to-year to 234.2 million. The average MPUs improved greatly year-to-year by 84.5% to 27.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021, mainly attributable to the stable traffic on Weixin channels and continuously enhanced user acquisition capability through alternative online channels and offline initiatives. Paying ratio recovered to 11.7% for the first quarter of 2021. Paying users in the twelve-month period ended March 31, 2021 further increased to 169.3 million.
For the first quarter of 2021, Tongcheng-Elong has achieved solid growth in business. When compared with the first quarter of 2019, Tongcheng-Elong has achieved 45.0% growth in Chinese domestic room nights sold, with more than 70.0% growth in lower-tier cities, around 20.0% increase in domestic air ticketing volume, and nearly 150.0% increase in bus ticketing volume. Total GMV increased by 83.0% year-to-year to RMB33.3 billion. For the first quarter of 2021, total revenue increased significantly year-to-year by 60.6% to RMB1,613.8 million. Leveraging its flexible operations strategy and light operational model, Tongcheng-Elong achieved an adjusted profit for the period of RMB296.3 million with a year-to-year growth of 279.5%. Adjusted net margin for the first quarter of 2021 was 18.4%.
