Autohome Inc. Announces 2023 Q4 and Annual Earnings: New Business Drives Sustained Growth
HONG KONG, Feb. 6, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Autohome Inc. (NYSE: ATHM; HKEX: 2518) ("Autohome" or the "Company"), the leading online destination for automobile consumers in China, today announced its fourth quarter and annual financial results for 2023. Over the past year, Autohome delivered solid operational and financial results with overall growth driven primarily by new businesses. According to the announcement, the Company's total net revenues in the fourth quarter were RMB1.91 billion. The total net revenues for the year increased by 3.5% year-over-year to RMB7.18 billion, of which the online marketplace and others business accounted for 30.6% of total revenue. The adjusted net income for the year was RMB2.16 billion with an adjusted net margin of 30.1%. In addition, Autohome remains committed to delivering returns to its investors as thanks for their long-term support; as of December 31, 2023, it has completed a US$200 million share repurchase program, repurchasing approximately 6.73 million American depositary shares ("ADSs").
On December 13, 2023, Autohome announced that Tao Wu has been appointed as an executive director of the Company and the Chief Executive Officer, where he is fully responsible for the Company's strategic planning, organizational management, and business development. Tao Wu stated in the earnings conference call that, "In 2023, the Company's total revenue grew steadily with a strong new business development. Looking ahead, we are committed to maintaining our leadership in these key areas, further exploring synergies with Ping An Group, and supporting the Company's long-term growth with unique value propositions and a more diverse and vibrant ecosystem."
User scale continues to grow alongside the construction of a diverse content ecosystem
In 2023, Autohome made user experience the core focus, creating a comprehensive system encompassing content, tools, and services to provide users with high-quality, convenient, and efficient auto consumption experiences. According to QuestMobile, Autohome's mobile daily active users ("DAUs") increased by 25.4% year-over-year to reach 68.19 million last December. The Company also launched an annual original IP 'NEV Breakthrough Plan', a comprehensive evaluation program that assesses new energy vehicles ("NEV") safety based on facts and data, deeply dismantles, tests, and analyzes the safety issues of NEV. So far, the program has received 325 million impressions and over 200 million views across the entire network.
In the future, Autohome will maintain its focus on catering to the evolving needs of users, creating a rich and diverse content ecosystem that provides users with convenient access to high-quality, comprehensive services throughout the entire car ownership lifecycle, and improve user experience.
Autohome Space taps into 20 Cities and revenue from NEV brands ramp up
Over the past year, Autohome's NEV business has accelerated its roadmap. Revenue from NEV brands has increased by 81.6% year-on-year, continuing to outperform industry sales growth rates. By the end of 2023, Autohome Space has expanded to 20 cities across the country, particularly in mid to lower tier cities, to explore potential opportunities. In addition, the number of Space brand partners has gradually increased, and the offering of 3D holographic car models has covered more than 70 mainstream models. Going forward, Autohome will continue to increase its investment in the new retail model, allowing the Company to provide a comprehensive range of high-quality, one-stop automotive service experiences to consumers across the country.
Deep application of AI and large language model drives strong revenue growth in digitized business
In 2023, Autohome made continuous breakthroughs in AI product technology and large language models across a wide range of products and services, launched AI-driven data products, and promoted the application of large language models to all business scenarios. These measures helped dealer customers reduce overall costs and increase efficiency. In 2023, the average revenue of data products per dealer store and the average number of data products adopted by each dealer store both grew by over 20% compared to the prior year. The number of dealer customers for data products continued to ramp up, driving a 38% year-over-year increase in dealer data revenue for the year.
As user behavior in car consumption changes, Autohome actively analyzes and identifies user concerns and vertical media blind spots. Combining AI new technology, the Company created CarPlan, the first large model-assisted decision-making product in the automotive industry. Since its launch as an independent mini-program in September 2023, it has provided car purchase decisions for more than 2 million users. The company's 'Super Subsidy' event covers more than a hundred brands and thousands of popular car series. In 2023, it issued over 100 million real car purchase rights to more than 1 million users, effectively tapping the consumption potential of China's car market and boosting sales.
Empowering car dealers with used car digitization tools, TTP achieves breakthrough in replacement business
In terms of the complex used car business, Autohome leverages data and technical advantages to offer a wide range of products to facilitate efficient business operation management for used car dealers. The Company also launched a membership product specifically designed for used cars, providing dealers with a comprehensive information management platform, which has covered more than 20,000 car dealers. TTP used car replacement business has partnered with 45 original equipment manufacturers ("OEMs"). In 2023, Autohome achieved solid year-over-year growth in both transaction volume and revenue for TTP while maintaining profitability.
Overall, Autohome maintained a steady growth in revenue in 2023, while achieving a more optimal revenue mix and driving a significant increase in user traffic. The Company's new retail business is growing rapidly, and the overall business is making steady progress. Looking ahead, the prospects of the Chinese auto market are full of opportunities and challenges. The company will continue to invest in new models, technologies and products, and proactively explore opportunities for further business, resource and user integration with Ping An Group. Through these efforts, the Company aims to create new growth momentum and position ourselves for continued success in the future.
About Autohome
Autohome Inc. (NYSE: ATHM; HKEX: 2518) is the leading online destination for automobile consumers in China. According to QuestMobile, in December 2023, the mobile DAUs reached 68.19 million with an increase of 25.4% year-over-year. Its mission is to engage, educate and inform consumers about everything auto. Autohome provides occupationally generated content, professionally generated content, user-generated content, and AI-generated content, a comprehensive automobile library, and extensive automobile listing information to automobile consumers, covering the entire car purchase and ownership cycle. The ability to reach a large and engaged user base of automobile consumers has made Autohome a preferred platform for automakers and dealers to conduct their advertising campaigns. Further, the Company's dealer subscription and advertising services allow dealers to market their inventory and services through Autohome's platform, extending the reach of their physical showrooms to potentially millions of internet users in China and generating sales leads for them. The Company offers sales leads, data analysis, and marketing services to assist automakers and dealers with improving their efficiency and facilitating transactions. Autohome operates its "Autohome Mall," a full-service online transaction platform, to facilitate transactions for automakers and dealers. Further, through its websites and mobile applications, it also provides other value-added services, including auto financing, auto insurance, used car transactions, and aftermarket services.
For further information, please visit: https://www.autohome.com.cn/about/index.html
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