Unconsciously, the May Day holiday is about to usher in, which means that one-third of the year has passed. For many companies, this is a big node, and it is time to review the overall performance of the first quarter. Just recently, many car companies have announced the financial reports of the first quarter of this year, one of which is Beiqi Blue Valley. The first quarter financial report released by Beiqi Blue Valley can be described as both happy and worried, how specific? Let's take a look.
Revenue has risen, but it doesn't seem to show any signs of improvement
Beiqi Blue Valley's first-quarter financial report showed that the operating income was 1.731 billion yuan, an increase of 108.42% year-on-year; the net loss attributable to the shareholders of the listed company was 957 million yuan.
Although the revenue increased, compared with the loss of 898 million yuan in the first quarter of 2021 of Beiqi Blue Valley, and the loss of 477 million yuan in the first quarter of 2020, the loss of 957 million yuan in the first quarter of this year is obviously larger, and there seems to be no sign of improvement. Perhaps this will increase the pressure on Beiqi Blue Valley in the second half of this year.
In the past two years, the net loss of Beiqi Blue Valley in 2020 and 2021 was 6.476 billion yuan and 5.244 billion yuan, respectively. Although the loss margin has narrowed, Beiqi Blue Valley wants to turn losses into profits is not something that can be done in a moment and a half. Unexpectedly, Beiqi Blue Valley, which entered the new energy track early, only caught up with a late set, and even if the rapid development of new energy in the past two years has not been able to obtain dividends from it.
In fact, there are certain reasons for this. In 2019, BAIC BJEV achieved good results, with annual sales of more than 150,000 vehicles. However, 70% of these orders come from the B-end market, that is, from online car-hailing, taxi and other orders, which are really used as private cars. Therefore, when the B-end market is gradually saturated, BAIC BJEV cannot be quickly selected by consumers, so that sales begin to decline, and losses are inevitable.
Sales and R&D expenses are still increasing
Compared with the financial report of Beiqi Blue Valley in the first quarter of recent years, it can be found that the sales expenses of Beiqi Blue Valley in the first quarter of this year reached 309 million yuan, an increase of more than 100 million yuan over the first quarter of last year, which is due to the increase in advertising exhibition fees and operating expenses.
In addition, the research and development expenses of Beiqi Blue Valley in the first quarter of this year reached 203 million yuan, which increased a lot compared with the first quarter of recent years, and the research and development expenses showed a trend of increasing year by year. It is not difficult to understand that at present, the high-end brand Ofji Fox Automobile under Beiqi Blue Valley is climbing uphill, and it needs funds at the level of research and development, channels, and publicity.
In the short term, neither the cost of research and development nor the cost of sales expenses has any obvious role. This can be seen in terms of sales volume and the state of losses in the first quarter of this year. Therefore, how to balance costs with products and sales output is the key to Beiqi Blue Valley.
Can the target of 100,000 vehicles be achieved this year?
From the perspective of sales, this year's Beiqi Blue Valley is somewhat colorful. Beiqi Blue Valley's cumulative sales in the first quarter of this year were 9,120 units, an increase of 189.9% year-on-year. However, compared with the 2022 sales target of 100,000 vehicles set by Beiqi Blue Valley, there is still a bit of a gap. Even if the first quarter sales are regarded as 10,000 vehicles, Beiqi Blue Valley also needs to sell 90,000 vehicles in the next 9 months, which is equivalent to 10,000 units sold in an average month.
However, according to the sales data and speed of the first quarter, the target of 100,000 vehicles today is obviously very challenging for Beiqi Blue Valley. At the beginning of the target, Beiqi Blue Valley said that the sales target of Jihu this year is 40,000 vehicles, which means that other brands under Beiqi Blue Valley will complete 60,000 vehicles. Nowadays, it seems that neither Jihu nor BAIC BJEV has completed the brand "task" well.
However, at present, the product layout of Jihu Automobile has been accelerated, and it is expected that the new HI version of Jihu Alpha S will be delivered in batches in the first half of this year. If the market response is good, this version of the model with Huawei's in-depth cooperation may really make the reputation of the Jihu brand, and then it may be expected to become the last "life-saving straw" of Beiqi Blue Valley.
Auto Network Review: Slightly improved, but still not optimistic
As an early enterprise that entered the field of new energy, Beiqi Blue Valley did not seize the opportunity, and after many car companies entered the field of new energy, it appeared to be insufficiently competitive. It is largely because of the positioning of BAIC Blue Valley's brands, especially BAIC BJEV. The loss of subsidies, coupled with the saturation of the online ride-hailing market, led to an increasing weakness in the field of private cars, coupled with the impact of major new energy brands, and eventually lost competitiveness.
Nowadays, Beiqi Blue Valley seems to have realized the seriousness of the situation and begun to focus on the layout of the private car field, such as the new high-end new energy brand Jihu Automobile. Judging from the financial report of the first quarter of this year, although the revenue has improved, and the sales volume in the first quarter has also improved slightly, on the whole, Beiqi Blue Valley still cannot be relaxed, especially the emphasis on the Jihu brand. Therefore, whether Beiqi Blue Valley can make achievements this year is still worth paying attention to.