Hive Box Plans Hong Kong IPO: Accumulated Losses Over Three Years Exceed 3.7 Billion Yuan
Hive Box, a Chinese logistics company, officially submitted its prospectus to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on August 30, with Huatai International serving as the sole sponsor.
Established in April 2015, Hive Box pioneered a new model of end-of-line parcel delivery service based on smart lockers. Its products and services span logistics and express delivery, community services, and advertising media. The business is divided into three major divisions: end-of-line express delivery services, value-added services, and consumer intelligent delivery services.
Hive Box provides end-of-line logistics solutions with smart express lockers as standalone service products. Couriers and various express delivery companies are the primary customers, with Hive Box charging service fees for each package delivered to its smart lockers. For consumer intelligent delivery services, the clients are mainly express delivery companies and consumers on e-commerce platforms, with Hive Box charging service fees for each package sent through its smart lockers.
According to data from Zhizhi Consulting, based on 2023 revenue, Hive Box is the largest end-of-line logistics solution provider in China and the world’s largest operator of smart express locker networks.
As of May 31, 2024, Hive Box’s smart locker network services cover 31 provinces in China, reaching about 209,000 communities. Over the past three years, the number of packages delivered by Hive Box’s end-of-line express delivery service were 6.204 billion, 5.823 billion, and 6.463 billion respectively. In 2022, this represented a decrease of 6.54% compared to the previous year, while in 2023, it was an increase of 11%. Meanwhile, the number of packages sent by Hive Box’s consumer intelligent delivery service were 114 million, 142 million, and 233 million respectively. In 2022 and 2023, these numbers represented year-on-year growth of 24.56% and 64.08% respectively.
The total revenue over the past three years exceeded 9 billion yuan, with a loss of 3.779 billion yuan. However, Hive Box achieved a turnaround in the first five months of this year. From 2021 to 2023, Hive Box’s revenues were 2.526 billion yuan, 2.891 billion yuan, and 3.812 billion yuan, totaling over 9 billion yuan. In 2022 and 2023, this represented year-on-year growth of 14.4% and 31.9% respectively. As of May 31 this year, Hive Box has achieved a revenue of 1.904 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 33.6%.
Looking to the future, Hive Box plans to expand and optimize the layout of its smart lockers, particularly in underserved markets. The company is also considering strengthening its overseas service capabilities. It may expand its business through various means such as independent operations, joint ventures with overseas partners, or exporting its technology, to adapt to different market conditions. Furthermore, Hive Box is committed to extending its smart locker network overseas to seize the opportunities brought by the booming cross-border e-commerce industry.
