On May 23rd, Beike released its financial results for the first quarter of 2024 (hereinafter referred to as the first quarter of this year).
According to the announcement, the total transaction volume of shells in the first quarter of this year was 629.9 billion yuan (RMB, the same below), a year-on-year decrease of 35.2%. The total transaction volume of existing housing transactions was 453.2 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 31.8%; The total transaction volume of new house transactions was 151.8 billion yuan, a significant decrease of 45.4% year-on-year.
In addition, the total transaction volume of home decoration and home furnishings was 3.4 billion yuan, an increase of 26.1% year-on-year. The total transaction volume of emerging businesses and others was 21.5 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 19.3%. The net income was 16.4 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 19.2%. The net profit was 432 million yuan, and the adjusted net profit was 1.392 billion yuan.
On May 24th, the Beike Hong Kong stock opened at a low of nearly 7% and fell 11.22% as of the close.
The total transaction volume of new houses plummeted by 45.4%
Beike pointed out that net income in the first quarter of this year decreased by 19.2% year-on-year to 16.4 billion yuan. Mainly due to a decrease in net income from existing and new housing businesses, partially offset by an increase in net income from home decoration and rental services.
The total transaction volume decreased by 35.2% from 971.5 billion yuan in the same period of 2023 to 629.9 billion yuan, mainly due to the release of the backlog of demand after the relaxation of COVID-19 control restrictions. The peak of transaction activity was concentrated in February and March 2023, resulting in a high base of the real estate trading market in the first quarter of 2023, and the weakening of supply and demand sides led to a sluggish new housing trading market in the first quarter of this year.
The net income of the existing housing business decreased by 37.6% year-on-year to 5.7 billion yuan, mainly due to a 31.8% decrease in the total transaction volume of existing housing transactions from 664.3 billion yuan in the same period of 2023 to 453.2 billion yuan in the first quarter of this year. The difference in the year-on-year change rate between the total transaction volume and net income of the existing housing business is mainly due to the increased contribution of the total transaction volume of the existing housing business conducted by Beilian brokers on the Shell platform. This income is calculated based on the net amount of platform services, franchise services, and other value-added services, while for the total transaction volume conducted through the Lianjia brand, income is calculated based on the total commission income.
Regarding the commission income, which decreased by 40.2% from 7.7 billion yuan in the first quarter of last year to 4.6 billion yuan this year, Beike pointed out that it was mainly due to a year-on-year decrease of 37.9% in the total transaction volume of existing housing transactions through Lianjia stores to 179.2 billion yuan; The revenue from platform services, franchise services, and other value-added services decreased by 23.5% year-on-year to 1.1 billion yuan, mainly due to a 27.0% year-on-year decrease in the total transaction volume of existing housing transactions conducted by Beilian brokers on the Shell platform to 274 billion yuan.
In terms of net income from new home transactions, the first quarter of this year saw a year-on-year decrease of 41.5% to 4.9 billion yuan, mainly due to a 45.4% decrease in the total transaction volume of new home transactions. Among them, the total transaction volume of new house transactions completed on the Beike platform through Beilian brokers, specialized sales teams with relevant knowledge of new house business, and other sales channels decreased by 46.6% year-on-year, while the total transaction volume of new house transactions conducted through the Lianjia brand decreased by 40.1% year-on-year.
In the first quarter of Beike, brokers did not decrease but slightly increased
In the first quarter of this year, the total operating cost of Beike decreased by 12.0% year-on-year to 12.3 billion yuan. In terms of external commission sharing, the operating cost of Beike's Beilian brokers and other sales channels in the first quarter of this year was 3.4 billion yuan, compared to 5.6 billion yuan in the same period of 2023, mainly due to a decrease in the total transaction volume of new house transactions completed through Beilian brokers and other sales channels.
In terms of internal commissions and compensation, the operating cost of Beike's internal commissions and compensation in the first quarter of this year decreased by 30.9% to 3.6 billion yuan compared to the same period in 2023, mainly due to a decrease in the total transaction volume of existing and new housing transactions completed through Lianjia brokers.
It is worth noting that as of March 31 this year, the number of shell stores was 44216, an increase of 7.1% compared to the same period last year. The number of active stores was 42593, an increase of 7.5% compared to the same period last year. The number of brokers is 442705, an increase of 1.6% compared to the same period last year. However, the number of active brokers was 399159, a decrease of 3.0% compared to the same period last year.
In addition, the average number of mobile monthly active users in the first quarter of this year was 47.7 million, compared to 45.4 million in the same period of 2023.
Xu Tao, Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer of Beike, pointed out that the real estate market experienced a year-on-year decline in the first quarter of this year, mainly due to the high base impact of the backlog of demand released by the epidemic at the beginning of last year. However, compared to the normalized market performance in the first quarter, the performance of the second-hand market in the first quarter of this year was relatively stable.
Xu Tao pointed out that in the face of the ever-changing market environment, Beike actively promotes the "One Body, Three Wings" strategy. In the first quarter, the revenue of home decoration and home furnishings, housing rental services, emerging businesses, and other businesses increased by 112.9% year-on-year, further increasing to 35%, a significant increase of 21.7 percentage points compared to the same period in 2023, and the "one-stop new residential service platform" model further emerged.