Zhongsheng Holdings releases interim results, with shareholders' net profit attributable to owners of the company at 1.58 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 47.5%

According to the financial news from Zhitong Finance APP, Zhongsheng Holdings (00881) announced its interim results for the six months ended June 30, 2024. The group achieved revenue of RMB 82.421 billion, an increase of 0.63% year-on-year; net profit attributable to shareholders was RMB 1.58 billion, a decrease of 47.5% year-on-year; basic earnings per share were RMB 0.662.

The announcement stated that the majority of the group's revenue came from new car sales business, accounting for 73.8% of the total revenue for the six months ended June 30, 2024 (compared to 78.8% in the same period of 2023). Revenue from new car sales was RMB 60.812 billion, a decrease of RMB 3.757 billion or 5.8% compared to the same period in 2023, mainly due to the decrease in average selling prices of new cars during the period.

In terms of revenue from new car sales, Mercedes-Benz was the brand with the highest revenue, accounting for approximately 40.5% of the total revenue from new car sales for the group (compared to 43.1% in the same period of 2023).

The group continues to pursue a new strategy to establish Zhongsheng as a premium automotive service brand in China, further increasing market share in the 32 central cities where the group operates. As of the date of this announcement, these 32 central cities have over 15.1 million luxury brand vehicles, of which Zhongsheng has established long-term relationships with 2.1 million customers. Among the target customers in these cities, nearly 80% are repeat customers who will autonomously choose automotive service providers, representing characteristics of a mature automotive market (stock market). In this strategic context, the group will further integrate quality automotive services in these 32 central cities, which account for 61% of the national luxury brand vehicle ownership. The group will transition most of its automotive services to non-brand-specific services to maximize the exposure of different service offerings, thereby promoting customer acquisition, activation, and conversion. The group centrally manages all customers through digital tools such as WeChat Enterprise, social media accounts, member WeChat mini-programs, and Zhongsheng's exclusive e-commerce platform Zhongshengou. These strategic initiatives aim to build brand awareness and establish long-term relationships with automotive users, regardless of their vehicle brand or fuel type.

In the first half of 2024, the group is pleased to see that some central cities where the group has strategically established a presence are gradually showing results - various operating indicators indicate that local business expansion has entered a virtuous cycle. Taking the four central cities with the widest coverage of the group's footprint, Chengdu, Dalian, Nanjing, and Shenzhen, as examples, the total number of active customers increased by 9% year-on-year, reaching a total of 900,000. Compared to a year ago, the growth in customer numbers has translated into the basis for various operational activities (such as factory visits) - routine maintenance increased by 6% year-on-year, manufacturer warranty claims increased by 10%, accident repairs increased by 14%, car insurance renewals increased by 22%, and used car retail volume increased by 29%. In these four central cities, the proportion of customers who had maintenance, accident repairs, or car insurance renewals in the first half of this year and did not purchase their vehicles from Zhongsheng were 20%, 35%, and 29% respectively, demonstrating the group's capabilities in customer acquisition, activation, and conversion. The group believes that the achievements in these four leading central cities have fully demonstrated the effectiveness of the group's new strategy and clarified how the group uses relevant indicators to evaluate the performance of local operations in central cities as standards. The group will no longer evaluate performance on a single-store basis, as cross-brand services and centralized customer relationship management treat each market as a whole and integrate customers into the Zhongsheng automotive service ecosystem in various markets As of the end of June 2024, the group has 419 dealerships nationwide, including 269 luxury brands and 150 mid- to high-end brands. Since 2022, the number of dealerships in the group has not significantly increased or decreased. This is because simply adding dealerships no longer contributes to the growth of Zhongsheng brand's automotive service strategy. At this stage, the group continues to optimize the brand and city distribution of dealerships in conjunction with the central city strategy. The three new Toyota and two new Mercedes-Benz stores added in the first half of 2024 are located in the group's 32 central cities, while the six closed stores are mostly marginal brands within the group or stores in non-central cities. This is a strategic manifestation of Zhongsheng's consolidation of core brands and deepening of business density in central cities.

As a leading enterprise in the automotive dealership industry, Zhongsheng holds a 32% market share of new Lexus sales in China, an 18% market share of Mercedes-Benz, a 10% market share of Toyota, Volvo, and Jaguar Land Rover, a 6% market share of BMW and Audi. In the group's 32 central cities, the data on new car sales market share by brand is even more impressive, with Lexus reaching a high of 52%, Volvo, Jaguar Land Rover, and Nissan around 40%, Mercedes-Benz nearly 30%, and BMW, Audi, Toyota, and Honda around 20%. High market share in central cities implies high business concentration, which in turn means stronger risk resistance when dealing with drastic fluctuations in the new car market. The group believes that through the reshuffling of the Chinese dealership industry and the continuous integration of core brands in group operations in central cities, the group will further gain a higher market share. In the first half of 2024, Zhongsheng maintained stable new car sales of 233,000 units, achieving a year-on-year growth of 3.9% thanks to its excellent operational management and financial planning capabilities