Parcels Volume Increased 19.1% to 8.5 Billion
Adjusted Net Income Grew 1.6% to RMB2.3 Billion
Annual Volume Guidance Reiterated to Grow 20%-24%
SHANGHAI, May 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE:ZTO), a leading and fast-growing express delivery company in China (“ZTO” or the “Company”), today announced its unaudited financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2025[1]. The Company grew parcel volume by 19.1% year over year while maintaining high quality of service and customer satisfaction. Adjusted net income[2] increased 1.6% to reach RMB2.3 billion. Net cash generated from operating activities was RMB2.4 billion.
First Quarter 2025 Financial Highlights
- Revenues were RMB10,891.5 million (US$1,500.9 million), an increase of 9.4% from RMB9,960.0 million in the same period of 2024.
- Gross profit was RMB2,689.2 million (US$370.6 million), a decrease of 10.4% from RMB3,002.1 million in the same period of 2024.
- Net income was RMB2,039.2 million (US$281.0 million), an increase of 40.9% from RMB1,447.7 million in the same period of 2024.
- Adjusted EBITDA[3] was RMB3,686.7 million (US$508.0 million), an increase of 0.7% from RMB3,660.4 million in the same period of 2024.
- Adjusted net income was RMB2,259.3 million (US$311.3 million), an increase of 1.6% from RMB2,224.0 million in the same period of 2024.
- Basic and diluted net earnings per American depositary share (“ADS”[4]) were RMB2.50 (US$0.34) and RMB2.44 (US$0.34), an increase of 41.2% and 39.4% from RMB1.77 and RMB1.75 in the same period of 2024, respectively.
- Adjusted basic and diluted earnings per American depositary share attributable to ordinary shareholders[5] were RMB2.77 (US$0.38) and RMB2.71 (US$0.37), an increase of 1.1% and 1.1% from RMB2.74 and RMB2.68 in the same period of 2024, respectively.
- Net cash provided by operating activities was RMB2,363.0 million (US$325.6 million), compared with RMB2,031.0 million in the same period of 2024.
Operational Highlights for First Quarter 2025
- Parcel volume was 8,539 million, an increase of 19.1% from 7,171 million in the same period of 2024.
- Number of pickup/delivery outlets was over 31,000 as of March 31, 2025.
- Number of direct network partners was approximately 6,000 as of March 31, 2025.
- Number of self-owned line-haul vehicles was over 10,000 as of March 31, 2025, out of which, over 9,400 were high capacity 15 to 17-meter-long models compared to over 9,100 as of March 31, 2024.
- Number of line-haul routes between sorting hubs was over 3,900 as of March 31, 2025.
- Number of sorting hubs was 95 as of March 31, 2025, among which 91 were operated by the Company and 4 by the Company’s network partners.
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(1) An investor relations presentation accompanies this earnings release and can be found at http://zto.investorroom.com. |
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(2) Adjusted net income is a non-GAAP financial measure, which is defined as net income before share-based compensation expense and non-recurring items such as impairment of investments in equity investees, gain/(loss) on disposal of equity investment and subsidiary and corresponding tax impact which management aims to better represent the underlying business operations. |
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(3) Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure, which is defined as net income before depreciation, amortization, interest expenses and income tax expenses, and further adjusted to exclude the shared-based compensation expense and non-recurring items such as impairment of investments in equity investees, gain/(loss) on disposal of equity investment and subsidiary which management aims to better represent the underlying business operations. |
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(4) One ADS represents one Class A ordinary share. |
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(5) Adjusted basic and diluted earnings per American depositary share attributable to ordinary shareholders is a non-GAAP financial measure. It is defined as adjusted net income attributable to ordinary shareholders divided by weighted average number of basic and diluted American depositary shares, respectively. |
Mr. Meisong Lai, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ZTO, commented, “During the first quarter, ZTO maintained leading service quality and achieved 8.5 billion of parcel volume and 2.3 billion of adjusted net income. Retail volume increased by 46% year over year for the quarter as we penetrated deeper into reverse logistics, and we continued to work closely with various e-commerce platform and enterprise customers to develop differentiated products and services which include time-definite delivery and customized KA consumer services.”
Mr. Lai added, “We believe competition in China’s express delivery industry has reached the “white-hot” stage, and it is further exacerbated by a greater portion of volume being either low value or loss-making for the logistic service providers. Our approach to network policies has been on maintaining consistency and cultivating long-term stability. At times of fierce competition, we are learning to better leverage our existing competitive advantage and at the same time, stay focused on initiatives that can bring about long-term prospects of profitable growth.”
Ms. Huiping Yan, Chief Financial Officer of ZTO, commented, “ZTO’s core express ASP decreased by 11 cents largely driven by 16 cents in higher volume incentives and 6 cents lower weight average per parcel partially offset by 12 cents increase in KA unit price. Combined unit sorting and transportation costs decreased 9 cents thanks to cost productivity gain initiatives. SG&A as a percentage of revenue was 4.7%. Cash flow from operating activities was 2.4 billion, and capital spending was 2 billion.”
Ms. Yan added, “Volume, backed by high quality of services, remains our top priority. Healthier profitability by the ZTO brand and its network partners relative to our peers are built upon decades of interdependent and cooperative relationship founded on our “shared success” philosophy. Achieving a reasonable level of corporate earnings, and at the same time, laying the groundwork and support our franchise partners to maintain confidence in long-term prospects, to reengineer last mile delivery processes and hereby reduce costs, and to increase their couriers’ share into retail profit, our concerted effort will forge new competitive advantage to expand ZTO’s volume leadership.”
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First Quarter 2025 Unaudited Financial Results |
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Three Months Ended March 31, |
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2024 |
2025 |
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RMB |
% |
RMB |
US$ |
% |
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(in thousands, except percentages) |
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Express delivery services |
9,240,172 |
92.8 |
10,122,290 |
1,394,889 |
92.9 |
||||
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Freight forwarding services |
202,747 |
2.0 |
179,219 |
24,697 |
1.7 |
||||
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Sale of accessories |
485,062 |
4.9 |
560,297 |
77,211 |
5.1 |
||||
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Others |
32,025 |
0.3 |
29,659 |
4,087 |
0.3 |
||||
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Total revenues |
9,960,006 |
100.0 |
10,891,465 |
1,500,884 |
100.0 |
||||
Total Revenues were RMB10,891.5 million (US$1,500.9 million), an increase of 9.4% from RMB9,960.0 million in the same period of 2024. Revenue from the core express delivery business increased by 9.8% compared to the same period of 2024, as a net result of a 19.1% growth in parcel volume and a 7.8% decrease in parcel unit price. KA revenue, generated by direct sales organizations, increased by 129.3% driven by increase in e-commerce return parcels. Revenue from freight forwarding services decreased by 11.6% compared to the same period of 2024 mainly due to declining cross-border e-commerce pricing. Revenue from sales of accessories, largely consisted of sales of thermal paper used for digital waybills’ printing, increased by 15.5%. Other revenues were derived mainly from financing services.
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Three Months Ended March 31, |
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2024 |
2025 |
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% of |
% of |
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RMB |
revenues |
RMB |
US$ |
revenues |
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(in thousands, except percentages) |
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Line-haul transportation cost |
3,371,493 |
33.9 |
3,483,065 |
479,979 |
32.0 |
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Sorting hub operating cost |
2,168,201 |
21.8 |
2,314,595 |
318,960 |
21.3 |
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Freight forwarding cost |
188,382 |
1.9 |
172,792 |
23,811 |
1.6 |
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Cost of accessories sold |
133,047 |
1.3 |
133,259 |
18,364 |
1.2 |
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Other costs |
1,096,798 |
11.0 |
2,098,534 |
289,186 |
19.2 |
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Total cost of revenues |
6,957,921 |
69.9 |
8,202,245 |
1,130,300 |
75.3 |
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Total cost of revenues was RMB8,202.2 million (US$1,130.3 million), an increase of 17.9% from RMB6,957.9 million in the same period last year.
Line haul transportation cost was RMB3,483.1 million (US$480.0 million), an increase of 3.3% from RMB3,371.5 million in the same period last year. The unit transportation cost decreased 12.8% or 6 cents mainly attributable to better economies of scale, improved load rate and more effective route planning.
Sorting hub operating cost was RMB2,314.6 million (US$319.0 million), an increase of 6.8% from RMB2,168.2 million in the same period of last year. The increase primarily consisted of (i) RMB109.9 million (US$15.2 million) increase in labor-associated costs partially offset by automation-driven efficiency and (ii) RMB69.2 million (US$9.5 million) increase in depreciation and amortization costs associated with equipment and facilities. Sorting hub operating cost per unit decreased 10.0% or 3 cents as automation and standardization in operating procedures plus effective performance evaluation continued to dig deep for productivity gain. As of March 31, 2025, there were 631 sets of automated sorting equipment in service, compared to 461 sets as of March 31, 2024.
Cost of accessories sold was RMB133.3 million (US$18.4 million), increased by 0.2% compared with RMB133.0 million in the same period last year.
Other costs of RMB2,098.5 million (US$289.2 million), increased 91.3% from RMB1,096.8 million in the same period last year, which included an increase of RMB957.4 million (US$131.9 million) for serving higher-valued enterprise customers.
Gross Profit was RMB2,689.2 million (US$370.6 million), decreased by 10.4% from RMB3,002.1 million in the same period last year. Gross margin rate was 24.7% compared to 30.1% in the same period last year.
Total Operating Expenses were RMB283.8 million (US$39.1 million), compared to RMB735.4 million in the same period last year.
Selling, general and administrative expenses were RMB737.5 million (US$101.6 million), decreased by 17.7% from RMB896.6 million in the same period last year. The decrease consisted of a RMB109.1 million (US$15.0 million) decrease in compensation and benefit expenses. Excluding a RMB37.3 million one-time charge in the same period last year for loss on collection with a supplier, the decrease was 14.2% year over year.
Other operating income, net was RMB453.7 million (US$62.5 million), compared to RMB161.3 million in the same period last year. Other operating income mainly consisted of (i) RMB407.6 million (US$56.2 million) of government subsidies and tax rebates, and (ii) RMB35.9 million (US$4.9 million) of rental and other income.
Income from operations was RMB2,405.4 million (US$331.5 million), an increase of 6.1% from RMB2,266.7 million for the same period last year. The operating margin rate was 22.1% compared to 22.8% in the same period last year.
Interest income was RMB198.4 million (US$27.3 million), compared with RMB245.0 million in the same period last year.
Interest expenses was RMB68.9 million (US$9.5 million), compared with RMB83.9 million in the same period last year.
Gain from fair value changes of financial instruments was RMB36.6 million (US$5.0 million), compared with a gain of RMB42.7 million in the same period last year. Such gain or loss from fair value changes of the financial instruments is quoted by commercial banks according to market-based estimation of future redemption prices.
Income tax expenses were RMB531.6 million (US$73.3 million) compared to RMB566.3 million in the same period last year. Taxable income for the same period last year reflected a RMB478.4 million non-tax-deductible impairment losses on investment in Cainiao Smart Logistics Network Limited upon a tender offer repurchase.
Net income was RMB2,039.2 million (US$281.0 million), which increased by 40.9% from RMB1,447.7 million in the same period last year.
Basic and diluted earnings per ADS attributable to ordinary shareholders were RMB2.50 (US$0.34) and RMB2.44 (US$0.34), compared to basic and diluted earnings per ADS of RMB1.77 and RMB1.75 in the same period last year, respectively.
Adjusted basic and diluted earnings per ADS attributable to ordinary shareholders were RMB2.77 (US$0.38) and RMB2.71 (US$0.37), compared with RMB2.74 and RMB2.68 in the same period last year, respectively.
Adjusted net income was RMB2,259.3 million (US$311.3 million), compared with RMB2,224.0 million during the same period last year.
EBITDA[1] was RMB3,466.6 million (US$477.7 million), compared with RMB2,884.1 million in the same period last year.
Adjusted EBITDA was RMB3,686.7 million (US$508.0 million), compared to RMB3,660.4 million in the same period last year.
Net cash provided by operating activities was RMB2,363.0 million (US$325.6 million), compared with RMB2,031.0 million in the same period last year.
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(1) EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure, which is defined as net income before depreciation, amortization, interest expenses and income tax expenses which management aims to better represent the underlying business operations. |
Recent Developments
Change of Board Composition
The Board of Directors of the Company (the “Board”) has announced the following changes, effective April 25, 2025: Ms. Di Xu has been appointed as a director, and Mr. Xudong Chen has resigned from his position as a director. The Company confirms that Mr. Chen’s resignation was not related to any disagreement with the Company.
Company Share Repurchase Program
The Board has approved its share repurchase program in November 2018 and made subsequent modifications, whereby the latest modification increased the aggregate value of shares that may be repurchased to US$2.0 billion and extended the effective period through June 30, 2025. As of March 31, 2025, the Company had purchased an aggregate of 50,899,498 ADSs for US$1,228.3 million on the open market, including repurchase commissions. The remaining funds available under the share repurchase program are US$771.7 million.
On May 20, 2025, the Company announced to extend the current share repurchase program to June 30, 2026. The Company believes that the share repurchase program represents ZTO’s confidence in the overall market opportunities as well as ZTO’s solid operating fundamentals and financial strength for sustained profitable growth and value creation for its shareholders.
Business Outlook
Based on current market and operating conditions, the Company reiterates its 2025 parcel volume guidance of 40.8 billion to 42.2 billion, reflecting a 20% to 24% year over year growth. Such estimates represent management’s current and preliminary view, which are subject to change.
Exchange Rate
This announcement contains translation of certain Renminbi amounts into U.S. dollars at specified rates solely for the convenience of readers. Unless otherwise noted, all translations from Renminbi to U.S. dollars were made at the exchange rate of RMB7.2567 to US$1.00, the noon buying rate on March 31, 2025 as set forth in the H.10 statistical release of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve Systems.
Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
The Company uses EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net income, adjusted net income attributable to ordinary shareholders, and adjusted basic and diluted earnings per American depositary share attributable to ordinary shareholders, each a non-GAAP financial measure, in evaluating ZTO’s operating results and for financial and operational decision-making purposes.
Reconciliations of the Company’s non-GAAP financial measures to its U.S. GAAP financial measures are shown in tables at the end of this earnings release, which provide more details about the non-GAAP financial measures.
The Company believes that such Non-GAAP measures help identify underlying trends in ZTO’s business that could otherwise be distorted by the effect of the related expenses and gains that the Company includes in income from operations and net income. The Company believes that EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net income, adjusted net income attributable to ordinary shareholders and adjusted basic and diluted earnings per American depositary share attributable to ordinary shareholders provide useful information about its operating results, enhance the overall understanding of its past performance and future prospects and allow for greater visibility with respect to key metrics used …