With the disclosure of the new financial report, the latest developments are displayed in front of the public.
Before the U.S. stock market on December 11, Qudian announced its financial report for the third quarter ended September 30, 2023. According to the financial report, Qudian's revenue in the third quarter of 2023 was 29.6 million yuan, compared with 1100 million yuan, down 731%；The net loss was 18.1 billion yuan, a decrease of 72% over the same period last year.
In the financial report, Qudian also disclosed the revenue of the new business smart last-mile logistics, which was about 29 million yuan during the reporting period. In the third quarter of 2023, Qudian has successively set up new operating entities in Beijing, Shanghai, Xiamen and other places, which has also made the market speculate about its new trends. While Qudian repeatedly "tried and made", the company's total equity attributable to shareholders fell by 400 million yuan in the third quarter.
Net loss widened by nearly 30% quarter-on-quarter.
On the evening of December 11, Beijing time, Qudian, a U.S.-listed company, disclosed its financial report for the third quarter of 2023 and handed over an answer sheet with a continuous decline in revenue.
According to the financial report, Qudian's total revenue in the third quarter of 2023 will be 29.6 million yuan, compared with 1100 million yuan, down 731%；Net loss attributable to shareholders of Qudian was 18.1 billion yuan, with a net loss of 64.8 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 72%. The net loss per diluted ADS was 084 RMB (0.)$12).
A reporter from Beijing Business Daily further combed and found that during the reporting period, Qudian's revenue declined, net loss narrowed, and rose and fell, mainly due to Qudian's business adjustment in the third quarter of 2022, resulting in a large loss base in the same period last year. The revenue performance of this quarter is the 15th consecutive quarter of revenue decline since the first quarter of 2020.
Compared with the second quarter of 2023, Qudian's revenue and net profit both declined sharply during the reporting period. According to previously disclosed data, the revenue in the second quarter of 2023 was 1108800,000 yuan, net profit attributable to ordinary shareholders was -7686500,000 yuan. Based on this calculation, Qudian's revenue in the third quarter fell by 62% quarter-on-quarter54%, and the net loss widened by nearly three percent quarter-on-quarter.
In terms of other operating data, in the third quarter of 2023, the cost and expenses of Qudian were 14.1 billion yuan, up from 4.1 billion yuan in the same period last year1.1 billion yuan, down 66%. Among them, due to the closure of the prefabricated food business, Qudian's cost expenditure in the quarter increased by 23.6 billion yuan decreased to 46.3 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 804%。Qudian's sales and marketing expenses in the third quarter of 2023 fell to 0 yuan, compared with 1 yuan in the same period last year7.7 billion yuan.
At the same time, it was again mentioned in the financial report that due to the end of the lending business, since the second quarter of 2023, Qudian's financing income, loan facility income and other related income, as well as transaction service fees and other related income, have been reduced to zero. According to the financial report, Qudian's core business has become an intelligent last-mile logistics business, and the sector achieved a revenue of about 29 million yuan in the third quarter.
From this point of view, Qudian's main intelligent last-mile logistics business has not yet become the main support for the company's revenue. After Qudian abandoned its original main financial business, interest and investment income and financial derivatives income became important income for the company**. In the third quarter of 2023, Qudian's net interest and investment losses decreased by 904% to $7.1 million, derivatives losses from 35.8 billion yuan to 10.8 billion yuan.
Investment income is not included in revenue, but included in net profit, and the decrease in investment losses also compensated for the decline in net profit to a certain extent. This kind of way of benefiting through financial derivatives is not sustainable in itself, and will not be used as a reference by investors to judge profitability, so it is also easy to cause fluctuations in Qudian's performance. Pan Helin, co-director and researcher of the Digital Economy and Financial Innovation Research Center of Zhejiang University International Business School, explained.
Regarding the main reasons for the decline in revenue and net loss during the reporting period of Qudian, as well as the planning measures to boost performance, a reporter from Beijing Business Daily also interviewed Qudian, but did not receive a reply from the other party as of press time.
Cash flow**2.2 billion yuan.
From the third fintech Chinese concept stock in the industry to be listed in the United States to the complete abandonment of financial business, Qudian's business development has been full of twists and turns. In addition to the logistics mentioned in the financial report, Qudian has carried out a multi-faceted layout in technology, logistics, engineering, and e-commerce in the third quarter of 2023. Recently, Hangzhou Jiaxianhui E-commerce was established, which is wholly owned by Ganzhou Qudian Technology, which is held by Luo Min and Lv Lianzhu, CEO of Qudian.
Qudian's "crossover" in different fields was once recognized by the industry as "burning money". According to Qudian's financial report, as of September 30, 2023, Qudian had cash and cash equivalents of 722.6 billion yuan (about 9..)US$900 million), restricted cash of $67.1 million.
Net cash used in operating activities was 1RMB500 million, mainly due to the purchase of operating assets and the payment of labor-related costs and expenses, partially offset by cash received from the company's interest income from short-term investmentsNet cash provided for investing activities was 2$500 million, mainly due to net income from the redemption of short-term investments;Net cash used for financing activities was 2$1.5 billion, mainly due to the repurchase of ordinary shares. At the end of June 2023, Qudian had cash and cash equivalents of 501.3 billion yuan.
However, some industry researchers told the Beijing Business Daily reporter that in the financial management of enterprises, cash flow can help enterprises evaluate the cash receipts and expenditures of operating activities, debt repayment ability and capital status, but in terms of measuring the long-term operation of enterprises, it is also necessary to continue to pay attention to the changes in the company's total shareholders' equity, which more directly reflects the company's own capital strength.
Qudian's layout expenditure in other areas also reflects the changes in shareholders' equity. A reporter from Beijing Business Daily compared Qudian's quarterly financial reports since 2023 and found that as of September 30, 2023, the total equity attributable to shareholders of Qudian was 119500 million yuan, 123 in the first two quarters9.7 billion yuan, 1234.6 billion yuan. This also means that in the third quarter, the total equity attributable to shareholders of Qudian fell by 400 million yuan.
Pan and Lin bluntly said that the decline in the total equity attributable to shareholders of Qudian was mainly due to the decrease in shareholders' equity due to losses, and the loss was due to the fact that there was no stable profitable business within Qudian at present. In addition to the advantages of financial support, the new business also needs to continuously enhance the sustainability of the company's operations.
Wang Peng, an associate researcher at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, also mentioned that from the perspective of book assets, Qudian still has relatively sufficient capital and has a good foundation for performance expansion. However, the company's own business is still in the process of transformation, and the shareholders' rights and interests were damaged to a certain extent during the reporting period, which also indicates that Qudian has market competition and other pressures in the transformation process, which also requires Qudian to continue to pay attention to the company's cash management and assets and liabilities in the future.
Regarding the reasons for the decline in total shareholders' equity and the follow-up business plan, a reporter from Beijing Business Daily also asked Qudian for information, but as of press time, he also did not receive a reply from the other party. However, Luo Min mentioned in the financial report: "We are optimistic about the potential of the e-commerce market in various regions of the world and are committed to expanding investment in this field." In our pursuit of growth, we may also suffer additional operational losses. Nonetheless, we remain firmly committed to executing on our business transformation while maintaining prudent cash management to protect our balance sheet. ”
Beijing Business Daily reporter Liao Meng.