On March 5, NIO disclosed its 2023 annual report, with positive year-on-year growth in revenue and sales, but the overall financial data did not improve, and the loss further expanded.
According to the financial report, NIO's total revenue in 2023 will be 556200 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 129%, a record high; The net loss for the year also set a new record, further widening by 435% to 207200 million yuan; adjusted net loss was 18.3 billion yuan, an increase of 51% year-on-year; Operating loss widened to 226600 million yuan.
In terms of deliveries, NIO delivered 160,000 vehicles in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 307%。
NIO's gross profit margin increased from 10 percent last year4% to 55%, and the annual profit margin of the car also increased from 13 last year7% dropped to 95%。
Sales volume increased and losses widened further
According to the financial report, NIO's revenue mainly includes automobile sales and other sales, of which automobile sales are the largest revenue**, accounting for nearly 9%.
Thanks to the increase in vehicle sales, NIO's total revenue in 2023 increased by 12 percent year-on-year9% to 556200 million yuan; Its full-year vehicle sales were 492600 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 82%。
Behind this growth is an increase in vehicle deliveries. For the full year of 2023, NIO delivered 160,000 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 307%。
However, cost control is still a challenge for NIO. In 2023, NIO's cost of sales will be 525700 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 191%。
This means that NIO's automobile sales cost is more than 3.3 billion yuan higher than sales, and the growth rate of sales cost is much higher than the growth rate of sales.
As a result, NIO's gross profit for the full year of 2023 fell by 40% year-on-year7% to 30500 million yuan, and the gross profit margin fell to 55%, compared to a gross margin of 10 in the previous year4%；The gross profit margin of automobiles for the whole year increased from 13 in the previous year7% down to 95%。
In terms of other sales, this part of the revenue for the full year of 2023 is 63600 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 691%。This reflects the increased demand for accessory sales and charging solution services.
In terms of R&D, NIO is still very willing to invest, and its R&D expenses for the whole year of 2023 will be 13.4 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 23.%.9%。Selling, general and administrative expenses also increased.
Overall, NIO's revenue and deliveries have increased, but they have failed to cover costs, and profitability is still not good.
For the full year of 2023, NIO's operating loss was 226600 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 448%；Net loss widened by 435% to 207200 million yuan; adjusted net loss was 18.3 billion yuan, an increase of 51% year-on-year;
In terms of cash reserves, NIO has abundant cash flow thanks to two rounds of strategic investments totaling US$3.3 billion in the second half of last year, thanks to two rounds of strategic investments totaling US$3.3 billion by Abu Dhabi investment agency CYVN. As of December 31, 2023, NIO had cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, short-term investments and long-term term deposit balances of RMB57.3 billion (US$8.1 billion).
NIO bets on the second brand to boost sales
Although the overall performance in 2023 is not impressive. Li Bin, CEO of NIO, is full of confidence in the future development of NIO. According to Che Dongxi, at the financial report meeting, Li Bin believes that NIO's performance will soon reach an inflection point, and the key factor is the new brand "Alps" for the mass market in the second half of the year.
As NIO's second brand, the spy photos of Alps' first model when it was tested have been previously **. According to public revelations, the car will be positioned as a pure electric coupe SUV, and all models will be based on NIO's third-generation technology platform NT30 for development, with a price of 200,000-250,000 yuan, benchmarking against Tesla Model Y.
At present, NIO has released 9 models, with prices ranging from 300,000 to 800,000 yuan. Alps is a mass-market brand that can fill the gap in NIO's current brand.
According to Li Bin, NIO's second brand will be released in the second quarter, the first car will be released in the third quarter, and vehicle deliveries will start in the fourth quarter. Currently, the first car of the second brand is being tested.
Li Bin has high hopes for the second brand, believing that this car will compete directly with the Model Y, and the cost will be about 10% lower than Tesla.
According to the financial report, NIO expects to deliver between 31,000 and 33,000 vehicles in the first quarter of 2024, a decrease of about 01% to an increase of about 63%。
Alps is NIO's development focus in 2024. While ensuring the delivery of the NIO brand, Alps' performance is considered to be the key to NIO's profitability in 2024.
Considering that the second brand will not start deliveries until the fourth quarter, how much it will contribute to NIO's performance, we will continue to monitor the market performance after the launch of the new car.