Red Star Capital Bureau reported on October 6th that on October 4th, Flash Delivery (FLX. US) successfully landed on NASDAQ. On the first day of listing, Flash Delivery opened at $16.5 per share and closed at $18.01 per share, up 9.15%. After ten years of commercial operation, the Flash Delivery Station has reached a new level.
According to data from third-party iResearch Consulting, based on 2023 revenue, Flash Delivery is the largest independent on-demand express delivery service provider in China, with a market share of approximately 33.9%. In the same year, Flash Delivery achieved a turnaround from losses to profits.
China's largest independent on-demand express delivery service provider
As one of the earliest companies to enter the same city instant delivery industry, the biggest feature of Flash Delivery is "one-on-one express delivery". The entire service process from picking up the package from the sender to delivering the item to the recipient is handled by one Flash Delivery person, and each Flash Delivery person can only accept one order at a time. This has created differentiated competition for Flash Delivery.
According to the prospectus, in 2021-2023 and the first half of 2024, the revenue of Flash Delivery was 3.04 billion yuan, 4.003 billion yuan, 4.529 billion yuan, and 2.284 billion yuan, respectively, with a slight slowdown in revenue growth.
Before 2023, Flash Delivery had sustained losses. From 2021 to 2022, Flash Delivery incurred net losses of 291 million yuan and 180 million yuan respectively. In 2023, it turned losses into profits and achieved net profits of 110 million yuan and 124 million yuan in the first half of 2023 and 2024, respectively.
According to data from third-party iResearch Consulting, based on 2023 revenue, Flash Delivery is the largest independent on-demand express delivery service provider in China, with a market share of approximately 33.9%.
However, it is worth mentioning that the IPO prospectus of Flash Delivery states that achieving profitability in 2023 is mainly due to the increase in government subsidies determined by relevant government departments at their discretion.
In terms of cost expenditure, the salary and rewards of flash delivery riders account for the largest proportion. In 2021-2023 and the first half of 2024, the revenue was 2.551 billion yuan, 3.614 billion yuan, 3.975 billion yuan, and 1.951 billion yuan, respectively, accounting for 90.5%, 90.3%, 87.8%, and 85.4% of the total revenue. At the same time, although the gross profit margin of Flash Delivery has continued to increase in the past three years, it is still in single digits.
The same city instant delivery market is still growing
The local instant delivery industry market is still growing and competition is intensifying.
According to the prospectus, it is expected that the independent on-demand express delivery market in China will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 27.8% from 2023 to 2028, surpassing the overall on-demand delivery market's compound annual growth rate of 19.1%. By 2028, the overall on-demand delivery market in China will increase to 809.6 billion yuan, and the independent on-demand express delivery market in China will increase to 53.237 billion yuan.
In the past three years, the number of fulfilled orders for Flash Delivery has increased from 159 million in 2021 to 213 million in 2022, then to 271 million in 2023, and from 125 million in the first half of 2023 to 138 million in the first half of 2024.
According to the revenue divided by the number of orders, the average revenue per order for Flash Delivery in 2021-2023 and the first half of 2024 was 19.2 yuan, 18.8 yuan, 16.7 yuan, and 16.5 yuan, respectively, showing a decreasing trend year by year.
Flash Delivery admitted in its prospectus that its business growth is highly dependent on the future growth of China's on-demand delivery industry. The on-demand express delivery market is fiercely competitive, characterized by continuous market changes and rapid technological development, which has spawned new market entrants and financially strong competitors, and introduced new business models that have caused disruptive changes to its business.
At present, SF Express, Meituan Delivery, and Dada Group (DADA.US) are all accelerating their layout.
Edited by Deng Lingyao from China National Radio, The Paper, and 21st Century Business Herald