Dingdong Maicai (DDL.US) achieved profitability for the first time on an annual basis under Non-Gaap standards, with multiple operational dimensions exceeding expectations.

On the evening of February 29th, Dingdong Maicai (DDL.US) released its 2023 fourth quarter performance report, which showed that its overall scale in the quarter remained stable and maintained a continuous state of profitability. Specifically, in the fourth quarter, Dingdong Maicai achieved a revenue of 4.99 billion yuan, GMV of 55.3 billion yuan, and a net profit margin of 0.3% under the Non-GAAP standard. It is worth noting that as of this quarter, Dingdong Maicai has achieved profitability under the Non-GAAP standard for five consecutive quarters, and also achieved its first annual profit under the Non-GAAP standard. The financial report also showed that in this quarter, Dingdong Maicai achieved an operating cash net inflow of 120 million yuan. As of the end of Q4, the balance of cash and cash equivalents, short-term restricted funds, and short-term investments was 5.31 billion yuan. The company has sufficient financial reserves and is well prepared for future business development. In the past year, for Dingdong Maicai and its industry, it has been a year of significant changes in the consumer market environment. Many companies face the challenge of constantly optimizing their operational capabilities and related core indicators while maintaining stable development. Dingdong Maicai's actual performance over the past year has responded to market doubts about its survival capabilities and also demonstrated the continued effectiveness of its "efficiency first, scale consideration" strategic approach. In 2023, Dingdong Maicai achieved a GMV of 21.97 billion yuan, although the scale decreased compared to the previous period, if we exclude the impact of the 2022 epidemic and operational area adjustments in 2023, the performance of some core operational data actually exceeded expectations. Company executives revealed at the performance meeting that compared to 2021, the overall average order value of the company increased by 23% to 72.1 yuan; the GMV scale of the East China market has also achieved a compound annual growth rate of 10%. Additionally, even compared to the high base of 2022, the GMV and order volume in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions both achieved year-on-year growth of over 8%. Dingdong Maicai also performed well during the recent Spring Festival period. It was revealed at the meeting that despite reaching a new peak in consumer flow during this year's Spring Festival, Dingdong Maicai's same-store order volume increased by 6% year-on-year during the Chinese New Year to Lantern Festival period, and by 9% in the East China region. On the Lantern Festival day on February 24th, the overall daily sales surpassed 100 million yuan, reaching the highest level since the epidemic. It can be said that Dingdong Maicai's enhanced product and scene expansion capabilities are continuously being verified. The current data performance also reflects the results of Dingdong Maicai's "product strength" strategy implemented since 2021. According to its disclosure, in this quarter, the user penetration rate of Dingdong Maicai's own-brand products has reached 73.6%, further capturing the hearts of users. The GMV penetration rates of ready-to-cook meals, pork, and soy products, three categories with great market prospects, all exceeded 50% for the whole year. It can be seen that by adhering to a focus on the domestic food sector and actively participating in product development, Dingdong Maicai has successfully developed a representative batch of own-brand products and platform bestsellers, with high user stickiness. The supply chain capabilities accumulated during product development will further enhance the platform's product performance and user experience in the future, thereby increasing market competitiveness in an increasingly rational consumer environment. Moving forward, Dingdong Maicai has stated that it will continue to leverage its supply chain advantages accumulated in the earlier period, focusing on the theme of "eating," continuously expanding beyond the dining table scenes and external channels, breaking through category boundaries, seeking incremental growth, further increasing the number and quality of self-developed products, and striving towards the goal of "becoming the first choice for Chinese families in fresh food and grocery shopping." While adhering to its original strategic approach, Dingdong Maicai has also actively sought change in its operations. It is understood that in the near future, Dingdong Maicai will continue to enhance market penetration through refined operations and site optimization based on its current coverage, further adjusting and improving the overall operational capabilities of each region towards the goal of "continuously improving supply chain efficiency". "Instant retail will eventually return to the essence of commerce, needing to provide more reliable service capabilities, stable quality assurance, and price competitiveness for consumers' shopping processes. We will continue to refine our basic skills in product strength, service capabilities, operational capabilities, and organizational capabilities. We will better prepare for the next spring," emphasized company executives at the performance meeting.