Autohome Inc. (NYSE: ATHM), the leading online destination for automobile consumers in China, today announced its unaudited financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2021 and its US$200 million share repurchase program.

Third Quarter 2021 Highlights[1]

• Net Revenues in the third quarter of 2021 were RMB1,763.8 million ($273.7 million), compared to RMB2,315.6 million in the corresponding period of 2020. Online Marketplace and Others Revenues in the third quarter of 2021 were RMB561.2 million ($87.1 million), representing an increase of 2.5% year- over- year.
• Net Income attributable to Autohome Inc. in the third quarter of 2021 was RMB521.7 million ($81.0 million), compared to RMB846.7 million in the corresponding period of 2020 and net income attributable to Ordinary Shareholders in the third quarter of 2021 was RMB511.0 million ($79.3 million), compared to RMB846.7 million in the corresponding period of 2020.
• Adjusted Net Income attributable to Autohome Inc. (Non-GAAP)[2] in the third quarter of 2021 was RMB583.2 million ($90.5 million), compared to RMB901.8 million in the corresponding period of 2020.

Share Repurchase Program

On November 18, 2021, Autohome's Board of Directors authorized a share repurchase program under which the Company may repurchase up to US$200 million of its American depositary shares over the next twelve months.

The Company's proposed repurchases may be made from time to time through open market transactions at prevailing market prices, in privately negotiated transactions, in block trades and/or through other legally permissible means, depending on the market conditions and in accordance with applicable rules and regulations. The timing and dollar amount of repurchase transactions will be subject to the Securities and Exchange Commission Rule 10b-18 and/or Rule 10b5-1 requirements. The Company's Board of Directors will review the authorized share repurchase program periodically, and may authorize adjustment of its terms and size or suspend or discontinue the program. The Company plans to fund repurchases from its existing cash balance.

Mr. Quan Long, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of Autohome, stated, "We are pleased to announce the financial results of our third quarter of 2021, which is another profitable quarter, as we maintained our leading market share and delivered total revenues of RMB1.76 billion. Despite the challenges for our traditional business due to chip shortage and reductions in marketing spending by OEMs and dealers, we are inspired by our solid progress in strategy implementation, which focuses on high-quality future growth in new business. In particular, revenues from new energy vehicle ("NEV") brands more than doubled year-over-year in the third quarter as we increased our efforts to engage with NEV automakers. Besides, the popularity of our digital-dealer-solutions packages grew steadily, evidenced by increasing data products adoption among dealer stores along with high penetration rate."

Mr. Long added, "Our content differentiation strategy and a series of innovative initiatives have successfully strengthened Autohome's content ecosystem, delivered a better user experience and sustained solid traffic expansion. In September 2021, our mobile daily active users increased by 12.3% year-over-year, a further testament to our leadership position in the auto media vertical.

Mr. Long continued, "we are also pleased to announce the share repurchase program of US$ 200 million, which demonstrates our confidence in Autohome's fundamentals, business outlook and the growth opportunities presented by our upgraded strategies. We believe that the share repurchase program will ultimately benefit Autohome as well as maximize value for our shareholders. Our strong cash positions bolster our ability to carry out this program while continuously investing in our value-driving strategies and new business, promoting Autohome's sustainable growth."

"Looking ahead, we will continue to build upon our solid business fundamentals and strong cash position, together with support from Ping An Group, to execute our strategic upgrades, and we are highly confident that we will make significant progress with more competitiveness in the long run." Mr. Long concluded.

Unaudited Third Quarter 2021 Financial Results

Net Revenues

Net revenues in the third quarter of 2021 were RMB1,763.8 million ($273.7 million), compared to RMB2,315.6 million in the corresponding period of 2020.

• Media services revenues were RMB434.1 million ($67.4 million), compared to RMB927.4 million in the corresponding period of 2020. The decline was primarily due to the decrease in average revenue per automaker advertiser, who adjusted their advertising budgets due to the ongoing global chip shortage and the elevated price of raw materials.
• Leads generation services revenues were RMB768.4 million ($119.3 million), compared to RMB840.5 million in the corresponding period of 2020. The decline was primarily due to the decrease in dealers' marketing spending.
• Online marketplace and others revenues increased by 2.5% year- over- year to RMB561.2 million ($87.1 million) from RMB547.7 million in the corresponding period of 2020. The increase was primarily due to the consolidation of TTP.

Cost of Revenues

Cost of revenues was RMB281.2 million ($43.6 million) in the third quarter of 2021, compared to RMB250.1 million in the corresponding period of 2020. The increase was primarily attributable to the consolidation of TTP. In addition, share-based compensation expense included in cost of revenues was RMB6.4 million ($1.0 million) during the third quarter of 2021, compared to RMB5.5 million in the corresponding period of 2020.

Operating Expenses

Operating expenses were RMB1,187.0 million ($184.2 million) in the third quarter of 2021, compared to RMB1,468.0 million in the corresponding period of 2020.

• Sales and marketing expenses were RMB712.2 million ($110.5 million) in the third quarter of 2021, compared to RMB979.3 million in the corresponding period of 2020, primarily due to the decrease in promotional spending and continuous budget control. Share-based compensation expense included in sales and marketing expenses in the third quarter of 2021 was RMB14.7 million ($2.3 million), compared to RMB11.2 million in the corresponding period of 2020.
• General and administrative expenses were RMB110.7 million ($17.2 million) in the third quarter of 2021, compared to RMB139.6 million in the corresponding period of 2020. Share-based compensation expense included in general and administrative expenses in the third quarter of 2021 was RMB9.6 million ($1.5 million), compared to RMB11.5 million in the corresponding period of 2020.
• Product development expenses were RMB364.0 million ($56.5 million) in the third quarter of 2021, compared to RMB349.0 million in the corresponding period of 2020, primarily due to the increased investment in research and development activities. Share-based compensation expense included in product development expenses in the third quarter of 2021 was RMB23.6 million ($3.7 million), compared to RMB25.7 million in the corresponding period of 2020.

Operating Profit

Operating profit was RMB365.1 million ($56.7 million) in the third quarter of 2021, compared to RMB744.2 million in the corresponding period of 2020.

Income Tax Expense

There was an income tax expense of RMB18.2 million ($2.8 million) in the third quarter of 2021, compared to RMB31.9 million in the corresponding period of 2020.

Net Income attributable to Autohome Inc.

Net income attributable to Autohome Inc. was RMB521.7 million ($81.0 million) in the third quarter of 2021, compared with RMB846.7 million in the corresponding period of 2020.

Net Income attributable to Ordinary Shareholders and Earnings per Share/ADS

Net income attributable to ordinary shareholders was RMB511.0 million ($79.3 million) in the third quarter of 2021, compared to RMB846.7 million in the corresponding period of 2020. Basic and diluted earnings per share ("EPS") were RMB1.01 ($0.16) and RMB1.01 ($0.16), respectively, as compared to basic and diluted EPS of RMB1.77 and RMB1.76, respectively, in the corresponding period of 2020. Basic and diluted earnings per ADS were RMB4.04 ($0.63) and RMB4.04 ($0.63), respectively, as compared to basic and diluted earnings per ADS of RMB7.09 and RMB7.06, respectively, in the corresponding period of 2020.

Adjusted Net Income attributable to Autohome Inc. (Non-GAAP) and Non-GAAP EPS/ADS

Adjusted net income attributable to Autohome Inc. (Non-GAAP) was RMB583.2 million ($90.5 million) in the third quarter of 2021, compared to RMB901.8 million in the corresponding period of 2020. Non-GAAP basic and diluted EPS were RMB1.15 ($0.18) and RMB1.15 ($0.18), respectively, compared to non-GAAP basic and diluted EPS of RMB1.89 and RMB1.88, respectively, in the corresponding period of 2020. Non-GAAP basic and diluted earnings per ADS were RMB4.61 ($0.72) and RMB4.61 ($0.72), respectively, compared to non-GAAP basic and diluted earnings per ADS of RMB7.55 and RMB7.52, respectively, in the corresponding period of 2020.

Balance Sheet and Cash Flow

As of September 30, 2021, the Company had cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments of RMB19.18 billion ($2.98 billion). Net cash provided by operating activities in the third quarter of 2021 was RMB567.5 million ($88.1 million).

Employees

The Company had 6,048 employees as of September 30, 2021, including 2,191 employees from TTP.

Conference Call Information

The Company will host an earnings conference call at 7:00 AM U.S. Eastern Time on Thursday, November 18, 2021 (8:00 PM Beijing Time on the same day).

Dial-in details for the earnings conference call are as follows:

Please dial in ten minutes before the call is scheduled to begin and provide the passcode to join the call.

A replay of the conference call may be accessed by phone at the following numbers until November 25, 2021:

Additionally, a live and archived webcast of the conference call will be available at http://ir.autohome.com.cn.