Chinese electric scooter company Niu predicts strong sales ahead

BEIJING — Virtually three years since Chinese language electrical scooter start-up Niu Applied sciences listed within the U.S., the corporate has not solely turned worthwhile however has additionally shaken off losses from the coronavirus pandemic.

Niu stated Monday that second-quarter income in China and overseas rose by 46.5% from a 12 months in the past to 944.7 million yuan ($146 million), and forecast development would retain roughly the identical tempo — or higher — within the third quarter.

“We’re seeing the China market actually [starting to] decide up when it comes to electrical scooter consumption,” CEO Yan Li instructed CNBC’s Martin Soong on “Squawk Field Asia” on Tuesday. “After which about midway into the quarter we see our gross sales have been [picking] up considerably.”

The corporate can be urgent on with a fast growth plan. Niu expects to open greater than 300 shops in China within the third quarter, after including 450 shops within the second.

Niu stated Monday that with development of 53.4% in adjusted web revenue within the second quarter, the corporate has made 110.6 million yuan ($17.1 million) within the first half of this 12 months.

That is up from 49.1 million yuan in the identical interval final 12 months — in the course of the top of the pandemic in China — and greater than the 68.7 million yuan reported for the interval in 2019.

The corporate had reported an adjusted web lack of 46.4 million yuan within the first half of 2018.

Niu shares closed 4.6% larger in a single day after the earnings launch. The inventory is down about 20% year-to-date. Nevertheless it has gained 147% since going public on the Nasdaq in October 2018 and has a market capitalization of $1.7 billion.

Abroad, Niu stated it bought 34.8% extra scooters within the second quarter than the identical interval a 12 months in the past.

However the 6,980 models bought overseas was nonetheless a fraction of the 246,018 scooters that Niu stated it bought in China, a market the place gross sales additionally grew far sooner, at 58.8% year-on-year.

On account of Covid disruptions in international transport channels, Niu had a backlog of just about 4,000 models it could not ship out within the second quarter, Li stated in a name with analysts Monday. That is in keeping with a StreetAccount transcript.

He famous that importers in Europe and the U.S. are ready for a decline in transport prices, which have surged from about $150 per scooter to $450 every.

Partly as a result of this abroad uncertainty, Niu gave a variety for its third-quarter forecast, predicting income would develop year-on-year by anyplace between 40% to 62%. That is the equal of 1.25 billion yuan to 1.45 billion yuan, a distinction equal to about $30.9 million.

Within the second quarter, the corporate reported a slight lower in gross margin that it attributed to larger uncooked materials prices.

Administration added on Monday’s name that future development in China this 12 months would differ by area since native governments are taking totally different approaches to implementing regulation on electrical scooter use. The requirements might drive development from customers having to interchange their present scooter fashions.

The decision didn’t focus on China’s latest regulatory crackdown that has centered on know-how giants’ monopolistic practices, information safety insurance policies and inventory listings in abroad markets.