SF Holding released its first-quarter financial report this year.
On the evening of April 29, SF Holding (002352:SZ) released its performance report for the first quarter of 2024. The financial report indicates that SF achieved an operating income of CNY 65.341 billion in the first quarter, representing a 7.03% year-on-year increase. The net profit attributable to the parent company reached approximately CNY 19.12 billion, marking an 11.14% year-on-year increase. The non-recurring net profit amounted to around CNY 16.57 billion, reflecting a 9.21% year-on-year increase. Earnings per share stood at CNY 0.39, demonstrating an 11.43% year-on-year increase.
Notably, against the backdrop of a more than 60% increase in net profit attributable to the parent company in the first quarter of 2023, SF Holding has maintained stable performance growth in 2024. Both the express delivery business and the supply chain and international business segments have contributed to this stable growth.
The financial report reveals that SF achieved a total business volume of 2.973 billion parcels in the first quarter, representing a 12.96% year-on-year increase, excluding the Fengwang business. Within this, the revenue from the express logistics segment saw a 6.30% year-on-year increase, or a 7.87% increase excluding the Fengwang business. Additionally, benefiting from the stabilization of international air and sea freight demand and the corresponding rise in freight rates, the supply chain business has continued to deepen, resulting in a 6.40% year-on-year increase in revenue for the first quarter.
The first-quarter report shows that SF achieved a gross profit of CNY 8.603 billion in 2024, marking a 1.69% year-on-year increase. The net profit margin attributable to the parent company reached 2.93% in the first quarter, an increase of 0.11 percentage points compared to the same period last year. The main expense ratio has remained stable with a slight decrease, with administrative expenses decreasing by nearly 1 percentage point. Technological empowerment is continuously enhancing SF's management efficiency.
In recent years, emerging live streaming e-commerce and social e-commerce platforms have rapidly developed, driving the expansion of the domains and product categories penetrated by "live streaming e-commerce" and "instant retail." "Impulse consumption" has also driven an increase in small parcel express delivery and returns and exchanges. In 2023, SF's return and exchange business became one of its popular products.
In 2024, to meet the needs of consumers and merchants for faster satisfaction, SF upgraded its products and launched several innovative services in terms of timeliness. For example, it expanded its "same-day delivery service" to cover 250 cities, focusing on intra-city and economic circles, refining its products and services to provide more comprehensive services for businesses and consumers. In the last-mile delivery, SF has utilized methods such as "unmanned vehicles" and "drones" to assist delivery personnel, comprehensively accelerating express delivery service timeliness.
To meet the "new demands" of consumers and businesses more quickly and improve delivery efficiency, SF's "unmanned series" has also shone, using technology to change lives. Among these, PHOENIX launched unmanned aerial logistics products, which are now routinely and commercially operated in the low-altitude logistics transportation field. The Guizhou SF Spring Tea special aircraft route and the Hangzhou Spring Tea unmanned aerial transportation have turned drones into new transportation capacity. SF has used the country's first express e-commerce container multimodal transport block train in the northwest region. SF has introduced an unmanned warehouse distribution service model, enabling vaporized outlets to help B-end enterprises get closer to consumers.
Simultaneously emphasizing its business operations, SF Express proactively engaged in the capital market to bolster investor confidence. In January 2024, SF Express introduced a share repurchase plan with a total amount of 500 million to CNY 1 billion. As of April 26, SF Express had completed repurchases close to CNY 1 billion, accounting for 0.58% of the total share capital. Additionally, in a move to genuinely safeguard the interests of the majority of investors, enhance investor confidence, and increase long-term investment value, the company's board of directors decided to change the purpose of the repurchased shares under the repurchase plans of March and September 2022, as well as January 2024, to cancellation and reduction of registered capital.
On April 29, SF Express launched its second phase of the 2024 repurchase plan, intending to repurchase company shares worth CNY 500 million to 1 billion within 12 months after approval by the board of directors. The shares repurchased in this round will be used for the future proposed employee stock ownership plan or equity incentive plan. This marks the first time in the history of A-share market that a listed company has successively launched repurchase plans totaling nearly CNY 2 billion within six months, highlighting SF Express's confidence in its future development.
While the business continues to grow, SF Express is continuously investing in building the company's long-term core competitiveness, achieving cost reduction and efficiency improvement through effective management. In the first quarter, the company continued to increase the compensation of first- and second-tier employees, orderly promoted operational mode transformation, and stimulated the motivation of the "cornerstone". Additionally, SF Express advanced the "resource pool" integration, lean resource planning, and multi-network integration to enhance resource utilization efficiency, effectively reducing expenses and achieving sustainable cost reduction and efficiency improvement.
These proactive capital market actions, positive cost optimization practices, restrained capital expenditure, and balanced use of financing channels have enhanced investor trust. On April 23, international rating agency Moody's confirmed SF Holdings' "A3" issuer rating and maintained a stable outlook for all ratings.
As of the time of writing, SF Holdings' stock is priced at CNY 36.25 per share, with a total market value of CNY 177.5 billion.