On November 26, Meituan released the third quarter performance report of 2021, showing that the revenue for the period was 48.829 billion yuan, an increase of 37.9% year-on-year; the loss was 9.994 billion yuan, a profit of 6.321 billion yuan in the same period of the previous year; the adjusted loss was 5.527 billion yuan, compared with a profit of 2.055 billion yuan in the same period last year. Specifically, the catering takeaway business made a profit of 876 million yuan, the in-store wine and tourism business made a profit of 3.784 billion yuan, and the new businesses such as Meituan Preferred and Travel lost 10.9 billion yuan.
Under the repeated epidemics, Meituan's revenue has grown steadily, and the loss is mainly due to the continuous business expansion of the retail business. At the same time, the anti-monopoly penalty of the US group was also settled, and it was fined 3.442 billion yuan. Affected by the policy and the big environment, Meituan's stock price in the first half of the year as a whole declined, from a peak of 460 Hong Kong dollars per share on February 18 to a close of 320.4 Hong Kong dollars per share on June 30. In the third quarter, the stock price recovered in the shock, and the US group closed at HK$246.6 per share on September 30. As of the close of trading on November 26, Meituan closed at HK$263.6 per share, down 3.87%.
Looking back on the performance of the third quarter, Wang Xing, CEO of Meituan, said, "Under the strategic guidance of 'retail + technology', we have become more determined to 'help everyone eat better and live better', and will continue to accelerate the digital transformation of life services and retail industries through scientific and technological innovation in the future, creating longer-term value for all participants and helping everyone create a better life." ”
The profit of catering takeaway was 876 million yuan, and the profit of in-store wine and tourism was 3.784 billion yuan
In the third quarter of this year, repeated epidemics and frequent extreme weather also affected economic development. Catering takeaway is still the bulk of Meituan's revenue, with a transaction amount of 197.1 billion yuan, an increase of 29.5% year-on-year; the average number of daily transactions is 43.6 million, an increase of 24.9% year-on-year. Food and beverage takeaway revenue increased by 28.0% year-on-year to RMB26.5 billion, operating profit was RMB876 million, an increase of 14.0% year-on-year, and operating profit margin decreased slightly from 3.7% to 3.3%.
Late-night snacks and afternoon teas are particularly popular during the summer months, with orders from both categories recording a two-year CAGR of nearly 30% during the quarter. Meituan launched supper promotions in more than 15 cities, as well as milk tea brand promotions, which led to a single-quarter increase of nearly 40 million trading users on the platform, reaching 670 million.
Rider protection aspect. In July, Meituan set up a takeaway rider service department to continuously upgrade the intelligent order scheduling system, optimize the path algorithm, increase the flexibility of delivery time, and introduce mandatory rest time for riders to improve the work experience. As of the reporting period, Meituan held 110 riders' earnest talks.
During the quarter, Meituan continued to deepen its efforts in the field of unmanned distribution, with quarterly R&D investment increasing by about 60% year-on-year to 4.7 billion yuan. Meituan has signed a pilot demonstration cooperation agreement with Shenzhen SIC Super Headquarters Center and Shanghai Jinshan District. At present, Meituan UAV has been in normal trial operation in Shenzhen for nearly a year, providing UAV instant delivery services for more than 8,000 residents in 7 areas of Shenzhen.
The arrivals, hotels and travel businesses are the main profits of Meituan. Revenue for the third quarter of 2021 was RMB8.6 billion, an increase of 33.1% year-on-year. Operating profit increased by 35.8% from $2.8 billion in the third quarter of 2020 to $3,784 million in the same period of 2021, while operating margin increased slightly from 43.0% to 43.9%.
Among them, in terms of in-store catering, the business affected by the epidemic has slowed down; in other in-store services, it has maintained a strong growth momentum, mainly driven by categories such as medical, pet, parent-child, fitness and leisure and entertainment. In terms of hotel reservation business, the number of domestic hotel room nights in the quarter still achieved positive growth compared with the same period in 2019 and 2020.
Commission income is an important form of Meituan's revenue, Meituan's commission income in the third quarter was 29.559 billion yuan, of which catering takeaway commission income was 23.223 billion yuan, commission income from in-store, hotel and tourism business was 4.125 billion yuan, and other new business commission income was 2.211 billion yuan.
In May this year, Meituan began the reform of the transparency of takeaway rates, splitting the original fixed proportion of the rate into technical service fees (commissions) and performance service fees, of which the performance service fees are only generated when the merchant chooses platform delivery, and the three factors of time period, distance and unit price change. The new billing method is clearer and more transparent than in the past, and merchants have more full choices in delivery methods, and the pilot work has been carried out in many cities across the country.
Meituan's new businesses such as Preferred and Travel lost 10.9 billion yuan
Meituan's new business consists of services such as Meituan's preferred and travel services. In the third quarter, revenue from new businesses and other segments increased by 66.7% year-on-year to MOP13.7 billion, mainly driven by growth in retail business and shared cycling services. The operating loss was RMB10,906 million, compared to an operating loss of RMB2,029 million in the same period last year, while the operating loss ratio continued to decline by 2.7 percentage points sequentially to negative 79.5%, mainly due to the continued expansion of the retail business.
Specifically, Meituan Preferred focuses on high-quality growth on the basis of complying with regulations and ensuring reasonable pricing policies, and further enhances its long-term capabilities in supply chain, warehousing, logistics and operations. In terms of Meituan's grocery shopping, the user base and transaction amount have continued to grow, thanks to my efforts to further enhance the consumer experience by shortening the delivery time and expanding the selection of fresh food and FMCG categories.
In terms of Meituan flash sale, during the Tanabata Festival, the number of single-day orders reached a new high, and the popular consumer goods category was extended from flowers to include gifts such as beauty and 3C electronics. Deepening cooperation with local quality merchants, supermarkets and convenience stores achieved the highest sequential increase in transaction value during the quarter. In terms of pharmaceutical categories, we will provide online operation support to local pharmacies and launch the "Little Yellow Light" project for all-weather smart pharmacies.
Meituan continues to adjust the management of new retail business, according to late reports, Meituan recently adjusted the management of the preferred, fast donkey, and grocery shopping business, and the three businesses were handed over to Chen Liang to be unified, and Guo Wanhuai assisted Chen Liang in management.
Mobility services are a major component of the new business. In July this year, the domestic travel market changed, and the "Meituan Taxi", which has been removed for many years, re-emerged from the jianghu, recruited drivers on a large scale, and subsidized users. At that time, the relevant person of the Meituan taxi told the Beijing News Shell Financial Reporter, "Summer is the peak season for online ride-hailing taxis, and the demand for users is relatively large, so drivers are recruited in the summer." ”
According to Meituan's earnings report, the other (loss)/net income during the reporting period was converted from a gain of 977 million yuan in the second quarter of 2021 to a loss of 2.1 billion yuan in the third quarter of 2021, mainly due to fines imposed under China's anti-monopoly law. In October, the dust settled on Meituan's anti-monopoly investigation, and the State Administration for Market Regulation made an administrative penalty decision in accordance with the law, ordering Meituan to stop its illegal acts and imposing a fine of 3% of its domestic sales revenue in 2020, totaling 3.442 billion yuan.
At that time, the US group responded to this, sincerely accepted, resolutely implemented, and comprehensively and deeply self-examined and rectified in accordance with the "Administrative Punishment Decision" and the "Administrative Guidance", and put an end to the "two choices". Meituan will take this as a warning, operate in accordance with the law, consciously maintain the order of fair competition, and earnestly fulfill its social responsibilities.
Chen Shaohui, CFO of Meituan, said, "With the further acceleration of the trend of deep integration of digital technology and the real economy, Meituan will continue to strengthen core capacity building around users, merchants, riders and upstream and downstream partners, adhere to long-term returns- oriented, continuously improve customer experience, promote the healthy development of the industry, and let industry participants benefit from scientific and technological innovation."
Beijing News Shell Financial Reporter Chen Weicheng Editor Chen Li Proofreader Liu Baoqing