Didi Reports An Adjusted EBITA Profit of 900 Million Yuan in Q1

On May 29th, Didi released its performance report for the first quarter of 2024. In the first quarter, Didi achieved a total revenue of 49.1 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 14.9%; adjusted EBITA (non-GAAP) profit was 900 million yuan. Among them, China travel’s revenue in the first quarter reached 44.5 billion yuan, an increase of 14.1% year-on-year; international business revenue reached 2.4 billion yuan, an increase of 43.9% year-on-year, with both China travel and international businesses maintaining stable growth.

In fact, in recent years, there have been multiple signals of market saturation in the Chinese ride-hailing industry. However, Didi has continued to grow against the trend and has reached a new business peak.

The financial report shows that the transaction volume of Didi’s core platform, including China travel and international business, has shown a continuous growth trend. In the first quarter, the transaction volume of Didi’s core platform was 3.75 billion orders, an increase of 30.3% year-on-year. Among them, the total number of orders for China travel increased by 27.1% to 2.95 billion orders year-on-year, and the total number of international business orders increased by 44% to 790 million orders year-on-year. Based on this calculation, the daily order volumes for China travel and international business reached new highs at 32.5 million and 8.7 million respectively.

“Thanks to the continuous deep cultivation of the main business, since 2024, all businesses of the company have achieved steady growth. Both domestic and international market volumes have surpassed historical quarterly peaks. We are full of confidence in the future development,” said Cheng Wei, founder, chairman and CEO of Didi.

Didi also mentioned in its financial report about the dual relationship between drivers and users. According to the financial report, Didi plans to further increase consumer and driver engagement in 2024, continue investing in the driver ecosystem, and provide consumers with more diverse and affordable products.

In this regard, Didi provides drivers with a stable and flexible income model through an open and transparent pricing system, diverse reward mechanisms, and various cost protections. On the consumer side, it offers multiple transportation options such as Express, Premier, Hitch, Luxe cars to meet diverse travel needs. It also enhances user stickiness through value-added services like car booking in advance, airport pick-up/drop-off service, designated driver service.

The continuous investment from both supply and demand sides is also reflected in the financial report. In the first quarter of 2024, Didi’s operating support expenses and marketing expenses increased by 16.3% and 15.7% year-on-year respectively, due to the increase in driver operation costs, consumer incentives, and marketing expenses. During the same period, Didi’s revenue cost was 40.7 billion yuan, an increase of 11.4% year-on-year, mainly from the increase in costs related to China’s taxi business.

According to the financial report, there have been new developments in Didi’s previously disclosed buyback plan of up to $1 billion. As of May 24th, 2024, the company has repurchased a total of approximately 37.1 million ADS shares as planned, equivalent to about $152.4 million USD. Between March 1st and May 24th during this period, around 22.2 million ADS shares were repurchased for approximately $98 million USD; indicating an increasing buyback effort.

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