Pinduoduo (PDD) Misses Q1 EPS by 2c, Revenues Beat

Pinduoduo (NASDAQ: PDD) reported Q1 EPS of ($0.24), $0.02 worse than the analyst estimate of ($0.22). Revenue for the quarter came in at $822.3 million versus the consensus estimate of $758.84 million.

• Total revenues were RMB5,653.9 million (US$822.3 million), an increase of 379% from RMB1,179.4 million in the same quarter of 2017 and an increase of 68% sequentially from RMB3,372.4 million in the previous quarter. The increases were primarily due to an increase in revenues from online marketing services.
  • Revenues from online marketing services were RMB5,062.4 million (US$736.3 million), an increase of 470% from RMB887.6 million in the same quarter of 2017, and an increase of 70% sequentially from RMB2,974.1 million in the previous quarter.
  • Revenues from transaction services were RMB591.5 million (US$86.0 million), an increase of 103% from RMB291.8 million in the same quarter of 2017, and an increase of 49% sequentially from RMB398.3 million in the previous quarter.
• Total costs of revenues were RMB1,424.0 million (US$207.1 million), an increase of 281% from RMB374.0 million in the same quarter of 2017, and an increase of 84% sequentially from RMB774.7 million in the previous quarter. The increase from last quarter is mainly due to higher costs for cloud services, our call center and merchant support services.
• Total operating expenses were RMB 6,870.8 million (US$999.3 million), compared with RMB828.1 million in the same quarter of 2017.
  • Sales and marketing expenses were RMB 6,024.0 million (US$876.2 million), an increase of 699% from RMB753.9 million in the same quarter of 2017, mainly due to an increase in online and offline advertisement and promotions and branding campaigns.
  • General and administrative expenses were RMB321.6 million (US$46.8 million), a significant increase from RMB11.6 million in the same quarter of 2017, primarily due to an increase in headcount and share-based compensation expenses.
  • Research and development expenses were RMB525.2 million (US$76.4 million), an increase of 901% from RMB52.5 million in the same quarter of 2017. The increase was primarily due to an increase in headcount and the recruitment of more experienced R&D personnel, as well as an increase in R&D-related cloud services expenses.
• Operating loss was RMB2,640.9 million (US$384.1 million), compared with operating loss of RMB22.7 million in the same quarter of 2017. Non-GAAP operating loss7 was RMB2,112.9 million (US$307.3 million), compared with RMB10.0 million in the same quarter of 2017.
• Net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders was RMB2,423.9 million (US$352.5 million), compared with net income of RMB13.6 million in the same quarter of 2017. Non-GAAP net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders8 was RMB1,895.9 million (US$275.7million), compared with Non-GAAP net income attributable to ordinary shareholders of RMB26.3 million in the same quarter of 2017.
• Basic and diluted net loss per ADS was RMB2.16 (US$0.32), compared with net earnings per ADS of RMB0.04 in the same quarter of 2017. Non-GAAP basic and diluted net loss per ADS were RMB1.72 (US$0.24), compared with Non-GAAP basic and diluted net earnings per ADS of RMB0.04 in the same quarter of 2017.
• Net cash9 provided by operating activities was RMB5,732.4 million (US$833.7 million), compared with RMB5,362.6 million in the same quarter of 2017, primarily due to an increase in revenues from online marketing services.
• Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash were RMB30.5 billion (US$4.4 billion) as of December 31, 2018, compared with RMB12.4 billion as of December 31, 2017.

“We had a strong finish to 2018 in the fourth quarter,” said Mr. Zheng Huang, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Pinduoduo. “GMV in the last twelve months increased 234% year-over-year to RMB471.6 billion. This was driven by the rapid growth in our annual active buyer base and a near doubling in the annual spending per active buyer. We view this as an indication of users’ growing trust in our platform, and will keep on innovating to satisfy our users’ evolving needs so they can have the best user experience possible.”

“In the fourth quarter, our revenue grew 379% year-over-year and 68% sequentially to RMB5.7 billion,” added Mr. Tian Xu, Vice President of Finance of Pinduoduo. “The growth in our revenue is the result of the continued expansion of our buyer base and increasing user engagement, which translates to greater traffic and attractive advertising return on investments on our platform. To build on this momentum and increase mindshare with users, we will continue to invest strategically.”

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Pinduoduo (PDD) click here.

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