Staff reporter
ZTO Express's (2057) net profit increased by 2.2 percent year-on-year to 2.4 billion yuan (HK$2.58 billion) in the third quarter with the revenue from the core express delivery business advancing by 18 percent, driven by higher parcel volume.
Revenues rose 17.6 percent, up from 9.08 billion yuan in the same period last year to 10.68 billion yuan.
The growth in core express delivery was driven by a 15.9 percent year-on-year increase in parcel volume to 8.72 billion and a 1.8 percent rise in unit price.
The year's parcel volume is now expected to range between 33.7 billion and 33.9 billion based on the current market and operating conditions, reflecting annual growth of 11.6 to 12.3 percent. This is lower than the previous forecast of 34.73 billion to 35.64 billion.
Founder Lai Meisong said that volume leadership is the cornerstone of the business, and the company is setting plans to maintain high service quality and customer satisfaction, regain market share, and widen its leadership in parcel volume.
Gross profit reached 3.33 billion yuan, up 23.2 percent from last year, while net income grew 1.3 percent year-on-year to 2.35 billion yuan.
It's shares ended 2.47 percent lower yesterday, at HK$161.6.
Profit rose 2 percent to 2.4 billion yuan.
BLOOMBERG
