On the 8th, local on-demand delivery and retail platform Dada Group announced that the company found doubts about advertising revenue data during its self inspection process and will entrust a third party to re audit.
In addition, JD Group announced that its consolidated subsidiary, Dada, had discovered some questionable behavior during its regular internal audit process, which may raise questions about Dada's online marketing service revenue and operating support costs for the first three quarters of 2023. The audit committee under Dada's board of directors has decided to conduct an independent review, which will be assisted by independent professional consultants.
According to relevant personnel from Dada Group, this incident was voluntarily discovered by Dada during the audit, or was caused by individuals suspected of committing fraud crimes. We have reported the case to the public prosecution, and in addition, the matter does not involve Dada's core business, so the scope of impact is very limited.
According to the announcement of Dada Group, preliminary assessment shows that the company's estimated online advertising and marketing service revenue of approximately RMB 500 million and operational and support costs of RMB 500 million in the first three quarters of 2023 may have been exaggerated. In addition, until further notice, the company should no longer rely on the revenue guidance previously provided for the fourth quarter and full year of 2023.
The announcement also stated that the audit committee of the company's board of directors, after reviewing existing information, believes that conducting an independent audit to determine the scope and root causes of financial impact and suspicious practices (if any) would be in the best interest of the company and shareholders. "The audit committee is currently hiring and will receive assistance from independent professional consultants, including a forensic accounting firm that is not a company auditor and an international law firm. The company will provide timely updates on independent review in accordance with applicable rules and regulations."
On the 8th, the stock price of Dada Group, which was listed on the US stock market, closed at $1.705, down 45.87%, close to halving. According to data previously released by Dada Group, the total net revenue in the third quarter was RMB 2.8666 billion, an increase of 20.4% from RMB 2.3801 billion in the same period of 2022. (End)