Huitongda Network Interim Report 2024

On August 28th, Huitongda Network Co., Ltd. (9878. HK) released its financial report for the first half of 2024, when the company proactively adjusted its development strategy to focus on optimizing its industrial structure and promote high-quality business development. According to the financial report, Huitongda Network recorded a total revenue of 32.86 billion yuan and a net profit attributable to the parent company of 130 million yuan; The quality of operation has steadily improved, with a gross profit margin of 3.5%, an increase of 0.5 percentage points compared to the same period last year.

Uncertainties in the global macroeconomy are on the rise and consumption growth falls short of expectations in the first half of 2024. The retail sales of consumer goods in China totaled RMB 23.6 trillion for the half year, with per capita disposable income of urban residents increasing by 4.6% and per capita disposable income of rural residents increasing by 6.8%, according to the National Bureau of Statistics of China.

The income and consumption growth rate of rural residents in domestic lower-tier markets is better than that of urban markets, but demand is still under pressure in the short term. Given the severe situation, Huitongda Network takes "improving quality and efficiency in transformation and innovation" as its general principle for the year, actively adjusts its industrial structure and improves operational efficiency to further promote business transformation and upgrading.

Huitongda Network, the industrial Internet leader exploring expansion into lower-tier retail market, served for family-run stores in villages and towns through the empowerment of digital technology and supply chain capacity. For one thing, the Group created a stable and efficient one-stop supply chain and provides multi-category transaction services; For another, by empowering upstream and downstream partners in the urban-rural industrial chain through digitization, it provided services such as SaaS+ services and merchant solutions. At present, the Group has formed a retail ecosystem covering 24,000 townships in 21 provinces and municipalities directly under the central government in China. Its main products focused on the "three high categories" of high product value, high offline experience, and high after-sales requirements, covering seven major categories of consumer electronics, household appliances, agricultural means of production, vehicles and auto parts merchandise, liquor and beverages, home building and renovation materials, and personal care.

In the commerce business sector, the Group has steadily improved its supply chain capacity, achieving a revenue of 32.39 billion yuan during the reporting period. According to the financial report, the Group has over 246,000 registered member retail stores as of the end of June 2024, a year-on-year increase of 13.2%; Over 92,000 active member retail stores, a year-on-year increase of 19.3%. The revenue of member retail stores has increased to 43.8% compared to the same period last year, further strengthening the control over downstream channels.

In constructing supply chain capacity, the Group focused on brand cooperation, integrated production and marketing, and market expansion in the first half of the year, improving the efficiency of the entire industry chain. In respect of brand cooperation, the company deepened cooperation with leading brands in seven major sectors including household appliances, consumer electronics, and vehicles and auto parts merchandise, while expanding cooperation with resource-based and regional retail enterprises; In respect of integrating production and marketing, the company has established an innovative supply chain model and taken the lead in incubating integrated production and marketing projects in the home appliance and agricultural means of production industries, greatly improving the efficiency of the supply chain and the output of commercial business value. Among them, the self-owned brand "IDISSA" air conditioner launched in the first half of the year exceeded 16000 sets of orders in just two weeks, setting the "ultimate cost-effectiveness" label for the lower-tier market. Moreover, the Group has expanded into areas such as home cleaning, personal care, and photovoltaics while consolidating existing business, striving to improve gross profit levels and promote sustainable growth.

In the service business sector, the Group continued efforts to strengthen the capacity for serving members, achieving a revenue of 380 million yuan in the first half of the year, a year-on-year increase of 12.0%. According to the financial report, the Group accumulated over 127,000 SaaS+ subscription users in the first half of the year, a year-on-year increase of 5.1% and nearly 48,000 paid SaaS+ users, a year-on-year increase of 28.8%, along with store SaaS+ subscription revenue of RMB 310 million, a year-on-year increase of 13.6%. The loyalty of member retail stores further improved.

Focusing on upgrading product value, the Group further strengthened its capacity for serving members during the reporting period. In product upgrades sector, the Group promoted further upgrading of SaaS+ products, gaining market recognition in efficiently empowering digital management of stores and targeted marketing strategy advice for members; In membership services sector, joint promotional activities were carried out with brand owners and manufacturers in the first half of the year, with a total of 6 national sales promotions, and more than 27,000 store-based personalized activities; In customer development sector, continuous progress has been made in the key customer service strategy, and deep cooperation has been established with over 60 domestic service enterprise customers, brand owners, and chain merchants.

In respect of digital construction, the Group continued to upgrade its industrial trading platform in the first half of the year, launching functions such as merchant live streaming rooms and price inquiry and trading of products. It also promoted technological innovation and strengthened the application of cutting-edge technology to enhance the AI review of products and achieve automatic generation of product description, ensuring fast listing while improving service efficiency.

Regarding the shareholder returns, the Group actively followed the government's initiative in the form of favorable returns to investors based upon the new "National Nine Articles" (short for Opinions on Strengthening Regulation to Prevent Risks and Promote High-Quality Development of Capital Markets, which consists of nine parts). In July, a proposal was passed to formulate a Shareholder Dividend Return Plan for the Next Three Years (2024-2026) and amend the Group's articles of association, opening a window for the implementation of the shareholder dividend return plan in the next three years.

Since its listing, Huitongda Network stays committed to the mission of "making farmers' lives better", developing the low-tier market while promoting rural revitalization. On the one hand, the Group deepened the empowerment of rural talents and conducted training for over 20000 new farmers in the first half of this year; On the other hand, it fully integrated digital technology into the real economy in the low-tier market through applying digital technology in rural development. The Group's industrial Internet mode has been reported by the "People's Daily", "Xinhua News Agency" and other national media for many times during the reporting period. Meanwhile, its business value has also been recognized by the capital market after being included in the MSCI World Small Cap Index, and listed as the "Fortune China 500" for three consecutive years.

Huitongda Network stated that looking ahead, the Group will adhere to sustainable and high-quality development by focusing on four core competencies: supply chain capability, brand operation capability, platform service capability, and organizational construction capability, to improve the operational efficiency of member retail stores, thereby promoting further upgrading of urban and rural industrial ecosystem, while promoting rural revitalization and high-quality development of digital villages.