ZTO Reports Fourth Quarter 2023 and Full Year 2023 Unaudited Financial Results

SHANGHAI, March 19, 2024

SHANGHAI, March 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE: ZTO and SEHK: 2057), a leading and fast-growing express delivery company in China ("ZTO" or the "Company"), today announced its unaudited financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2023^[1]. The Company grew parcel volume by 5.8 billion, or 23.8% year over year and expanded market share by 0.8 percentage points to 22.9% while maintaining high quality of service and customer satisfaction. Adjusted net income^[2] increased 32.3% to reach RMB9.0 billion. Net cash generated from operating activities was RMB13,361.0 million.

Fourth Quarter 2023 Financial Highlights

• Revenues were RMB10,619.4 million (US$1,495.7 million), an increase of 7.6% from RMB9,871.3 million in the same period of 2022.
• Gross profit was RMB3,128.2 million (US$440.6 million), an increase of 12.8% from RMB2,772.6 million in the same period of 2022.
• Net income was RMB2,209.8 million (US$311.2 million), an increase of 3.8% from RMB2,129.3 million in the same period of 2022.
• Adjusted EBITDA^[3] was RMB3,651.8 million (US$514.3 million), an increase of 7.5% from RMB3,397.5 million in the same period of 2022.
• Adjusted net income was RMB2,214.4 million (US$311.9 million), an increase of 4.4% from RMB2,120.2 million in the same period of 2022.
• Basic and diluted net earnings per American depositary share ("ADS"^[4]) were RMB2.72 (US$0.38) and RMB2.66 (US$0.37), an increase of 1.9% and 1.9% from RMB2.67 and RMB2.61 in the same period of 2022, respectively.
• Adjusted basic and diluted earnings per American depositary share attributable to ordinary shareholders^[5] were RMB2.73 (US$0.38) and RMB2.67 (US$0.38), an increase of 2.6% and 2.7% from RMB2.66 and RMB2.60 in the same period of 2022, respectively.
• Net cash provided by operating activities was RMB3,923.3 million (US$552.6 million), compared with RMB3,769.8 million in the same period of 2022.

Fiscal Year 2023 Financial Highlights

• Revenues were RMB38,418.9 million (US$5,411.2 million), an increase of 8.6% from RMB35,377.0 million in 2022.
• Gross profit was RMB11,662.5 million (US$1,642.6 million), an increase of 29.0% from RMB9,039.3 million in 2022.
• Net income was RMB8,754.5 million (US$1,233.0 million), an increase of 31.5% from RMB6,659.0 million in 2022.
• Adjusted EBITDA^[3] was RMB14,107.3 million (US$1,987.0 million), an increase of 25.0% from RMB11,289.1 million in 2022.
• Adjusted net income^[2] was RMB9,005.9 million (US$1,268.5 million), an increase of 32.3% from RMB6,806.0 million in 2022.
• Basic and diluted net earnings per American depositary share ("ADS"^[4]) were RMB10.83 (US$1.53) and RMB10.60 (US$1.49), an increase of 28.8% and 26.8% from RMB8.41 and RMB8.36 in 2022.
• Adjusted basic and diluted net earnings per American depositary share attributable to ordinary shareholders were RMB11.14 (US$1.57) and RMB10.90 (US$1.54), an increase of 29.7% and 27.6% from RMB8.59 and RMB8.54 in 2022.
• Net cash provided by operating activities was RMB13,361.0 million (US$1,881.9 million), compared with RMB11,479.3 million in 2022.

Operational Highlights for Fourth Quarter 2023

• Parcel volume was 8,705 million, an increase of 32.0% from 6,593 million in the same period of 2022.
• Number of pickup/delivery outlets was over 31,000 as of December 31, 2023.
• Number of direct network partners was over 6,000 as of December 31, 2023.
• Number of self-owned line-haul vehicles was over 10,000 as of December 31, 2023.
• Out of the over 10,000 self-owned trucks, over 9,200 were high capacity 15 to 17-meter-long models as of December 31, 2023, compared to approximately 11,000 as of December 31, 2022.
• Number of line-haul routes between sorting hubs was over 3,900 as of December 31, 2023, compared to approximately 3,750 as of December 31, 2022.
• Number of sorting hubs was 99 as of December 31, 2023, among which 91 are operated by the Company and 8 by the Company's network partners.

(1)	An investor relations presentation accompanies this earnings release and can be found at http://zto.investorroom.com. ARIVA.DE Börsen-Geflüster Werbung Weiter aufwärts? Kurzfristig positionieren in ZTO Express (Cayman) ADR ME9CJS Ask: 0,55 Hebel: 4,01 mit moderatem Hebel Zum Produkt Morgan Stanley Den Basisprospekt sowie die Endgültigen Bedingungen und die Basisinformationsblätter erhalten Sie hier: ME9CJS,. Beachten Sie auch die weiteren Hinweise zu dieser Werbung. Der Emittent ist berechtigt, Wertpapiere mit open end-Laufzeit zu kündigen. Kurse ZTO Express (Cayman) ADR 21,61 $ +1,89%
(2)	Adjusted net income is a non-GAAP financial measure, which is defined as net income before share-based compensation expense and non-recurring items such as gain on disposal of equity investments and subsidiaries and corresponding tax impact which management aims to better represent the underlying business operations.
(3)	Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure, which is defined as net income before depreciation, amortization, interest expenses and income tax expenses, and further adjusted to exclude the shared-based compensation expense and non-recurring items such as the gain on disposal of equity investments and subsidiaries which management aims to better represent the underlying business operations.
(4)	One ADS represents one Class A ordinary share.
(5)	Adjusted basic and diluted earnings per American depositary share attributable to ordinary shareholders is a non-GAAP financial measure. It is defined as adjusted net income attributable to ordinary shareholders divided by weighted average number of basic and American depositary diluted shares, respectively.

Mr. Meisong Lai, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ZTO, commented, "Amidst uncertainties and unexpected shifts in macroeconomic environment as well as in China express delivery industry during 2023, and by focusing on what we can do, ZTO delivered strong results for the year. We stayed ahead of the industry growth with 30.2 billion parcels and achieved 9 billion adjusted net income that grew 32.3% over last year. As we continued to evolve from being heavily dependent on experience to become increasingly assisted by data and analytics, we received positive outcome across many aspects of our business including partner network quality and stability, product and services enrichment, revenue mix improvements, operational productivity gain and last-mile presence."

Mr. Lai added, "The landscape of express delivery industry in China continues to bifurcate between bigger scale and higher profitability versus smaller in size or overcoming losses. ZTO is at the forefront of this divergence. Our strategies and execution have been effective in striking healthy balance amongst competing priorities including service quality, volume growth and earnings expansions throughout the years. Although uncertainties remain in near and longer term macroeconomic and industry specific development, we are certain of our clear competitive strengths that took years to build, and with unrelenting vigilance, we are well prepared to effectively manage risks and seize opportunities, as well as pragmatically raise shareholder returns."

Ms. Huiping Yan, Chief Financial Officer of ZTO, commented, "Moving in the same direction of the industry, ZTO's core express ASP declined 11.3% or ¥16 cents for 2023, out of which, ¥5 cents were associated with volume incentives. Price competition remained intense particularly in ecommerce concentrated markets. The positive news is that our solid base scale and continuous productivity initiatives combined with stable SG&A cost structure altogether helped to offset the negative price impact.  Our operating margin rate improved by 4.1 points for the year to reach 26%. With digitization driving operational decisions and execution process, our ability to deliver on strategic goals have greatly improved."

Ms. Yan added, "Capital spending for 2023 was ¥6.7 billion, and cash flow from operating activities grew 16.4% to reach ¥13.4 billion. The board has approved the establishment of a regular dividend policy starting with a $62 cents per share cash dividend for 2023, and no less than 40% payout ratio for 2024.  Further, the board authorized an additional US$500 million stock repurchase amount to add to the previous total of US$1.5 billion buyback program. Benefiting from the positive long-term growth prospects of Chinese economy, logistics industry, and leveraging the Company's competitive advantage and free cash generation, ZTO is well prepared to steadily increase return to our investors."

Fourth Quarter 2023 Unaudited Financial Results

Total Revenues were RMB10,619.4 million (US$1,495.7 million), an increase of 7.6% from RMB9,871.3 million in the same period of 2022. Revenue from the core express delivery business increased by 8.0% compared to the same period of 2022, as a net result of a 32.0% increase in parcel volume and an 18.2% decrease in parcel unit price. KA revenue including delivery fees from direct sales organizations, established to serve core express KA customers, decreased by 47.0% through either re-engagement of partner outlets or rationalization due to loss-making. Revenue from freight forwarding services decreased by 6.9% compared to the same period of 2022 mainly due to declining cross border e-commerce pricing. Revenue from sales of accessories, largely consisted of sales of thermal paper used for digital waybills' printing, increased by 43.1% in line with parcel volume growth. Other revenues were mainly derived from financing services.

	Three Months Ended December 31,
	2022				2023
			% of						% of
	RMB		revenues		RMB		US$		revenues
	(in thousands, except percentages)
Line-haul transportation cost	3,394,342		34.4		3,964,208		558,347		37.3
Sorting hub operating cost	2,139,620		21.7		2,257,047		317,898		21.3
Freight forwarding cost	238,464		2.4		227,547		32,049		2.1
Cost of accessories sold	147,838		1.5		162,227		22,849		1.5
Other costs	1,178,501		11.9 Werbung Mehr Nachrichten zur ZTO Express (Cayman) ADR Aktie kostenlos abonnieren E-Mail-Adresse Bitte überprüfe deine die E-Mail-Adresse. Benachrichtigungen von ARIVA.DE (Mit der Bestellung akzeptierst du die Datenschutzhinweise) -1 Vielen Dank, dass du dich für unseren Newsletter angemeldet hast. Du erhältst in Kürze eine E-Mail mit einem Aktivierungslink. Hinweis: ARIVA.DE veröffentlicht in dieser Rubrik Analysen, Kolumnen und Nachrichten aus verschiedenen Quellen. Die ARIVA.DE AG ist nicht verantwortlich für Inhalte, die erkennbar von Dritten in den „News“-Bereich dieser Webseite eingestellt worden sind, und macht sich diese nicht zu Eigen. Diese Inhalte sind insbesondere durch eine entsprechende „von“-Kennzeichnung unterhalb der Artikelüberschrift und/oder durch den Link „Um den vollständigen Artikel zu lesen, klicken Sie bitte hier.“ erkennbar; verantwortlich für diese Inhalte ist allein der genannte Dritte. Andere Nutzer interessierten sich auch für folgende News 27.04.24 - wallstreet:online ... Zunehmende Krankheitsfälle: Megatrend chronische Erkrankungen, 5 passende Fonds und ETFs 27.04.24 - wallstreet:online ... Besser als Gold und Silber: Kupfer bricht aus, Preisrallye entfesselt 27.04.24 - bullvestor Nurexone Biologic: Jetzt diese wirklich einzigartige Chance ergreifen? Biotech-Einhorn!    FDA Zulassung für das CBD-Wunder?! weiterlesen» Anzeige wo-site-teaser-box-16773_site-teaser-box_2024-04-27_09%253A00%253A00_2024-04-28_09%253A00%253A59