Tuniu Announces Unaudited Third Quarter 2024 Financial Results

NANJING, China, Dec. 5, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Tuniu Corporation (NASDAQ: TOUR) (“Tuniu” or the “Company”), a leading online leisure travel company in China, today announced its unaudited financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2024.

“We are pleased to see that Tuniu continued to maintain profitable growth in the third quarter of 2024, reaching our highest quarterly profit since our listing.” said Mr. Donald Dunde Yu, Tuniu’s founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “This quarter, our core packaged tours business continued its steady growth. In the face of greater and more diversified peak season demand, we expanded our product and destination offerings to provide more varied and personalized services for a wider range of customers. We also closely followed changes in consumer habits and further developed our ‘travel + new media’ marketing model, integrating services with technology to continually enhance user experience to attract more customers. Looking ahead, we remain committed to delivering outstanding customer experiences while striving to promote high-quality development for the company.“

Third Quarter 2024 Results

Net revenues were RMB186.0 million (US$26.5 million^[1]) in the third quarter of 2024, representing a year-over-year increase of 4.4% from the corresponding period in 2023.

• Revenues from packaged tours were RMB 159.3 million (US$22.7 million) in the third quarter of 2024, representing a year-over-year increase of 6.2% from the corresponding period in 2023. The increase was primarily due to the growth of organized tours.
• Other revenues were RMB26.7 million (US$3.8 million) in the third quarter of 2024, representing a year-over-year decrease of 5.1% from the corresponding period in 2023. The decrease was primarily due to the decrease in the fees for advertising services provided to tourism boards and bureaus.

Cost of revenues was RMB64.2 million (US$9.2 million) in the third quarter of 2024, representing a year-over-year increase of 1.2% from the corresponding period in 2023. As a percentage of net revenues, cost of revenues was 34.5% in the third quarter of 2024, compared to 35.6% in the corresponding period in 2023.

Gross profit was RMB121.8 million (US$17.4 million) in the third quarter of 2024, representing a year-over-year increase of 6.1% from the corresponding period in 2023.

Operating expenses were RMB92.6 million (US$13.2 million) in the third quarter of 2024, representing a year-over-year increase of 11.5% from the corresponding period in 2023.

• Research and product development expenses were RMB13.6 million (US$1.9 million) in the third quarter of 2024, representing a year-over-year decrease of 25.9%. The decrease was primarily due to the decrease in research and product development personnel related expenses. Research and product development expenses as a percentage of net revenues were 7.3% in the third quarter of 2024, decreasing from 10.3% as a percentage of net revenues in the corresponding period in 2023.
• Sales and marketing expenses were RMB60.6 million (US$8.6 million) in the third quarter of 2024, representing a year-over-year increase of 53.0%. The increase was primarily due to the increase in promotion expenses. Sales and marketing expenses as a percentage of net revenues were 32.6% in the third quarter of 2024, increasing from 22.2% as a percentage of net revenues in the corresponding period in 2023.
• General and administrative expenses were RMB18.6 million (US$2.7 million) in the third quarter of 2024, representing a year-over-year decrease of 31.3%. The decrease was primarily due to the reversal of allowance for doubtful accounts. General and administrative expenses as a percentage of net revenues were 10.0% in the third quarter of 2024, decreasing from 15.2% as a percentage of net revenues in the corresponding period in 2023.

Income from operations was RMB29.2 million (US$4.2 million) in the third quarter of 2024, compared to an income from operations of RMB31.7 million in the third quarter of 2023. Non-GAAP^[2] income from operations, which excluded share-based compensation expenses and amortization of acquired intangible assets, was RMB31.3 million (US$4.5 million) in the third quarter of 2024.

Net income was RMB43.9 million (US$6.3 million) in the third quarter of 2024, compared to a net income of RMB39.1 million in the third quarter of 2023. Non-GAAP net income, which excluded share-based compensation expenses and amortization of acquired intangible assets, was RMB46.0 million (US$6.6 million) in the third quarter of 2024.

Net income attributable to ordinary shareholders of Tuniu Corporation was RMB44.4 million (US$6.3 million) in the third quarter of 2024, compared to a net income attributable to ordinary shareholders of Tuniu Corporation of RMB39.4 million in the third quarter of 2023. Non-GAAP net income attributable to ordinary shareholders of Tuniu Corporation, which excluded share-based compensation expenses and amortization of acquired intangible assets, was RMB46.6 million (US$6.6 million) in the third quarter of 2024.

As of September 30, 2024, the Company had cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash and short-term investments of RMB1.3 billion (US$185.8 million).

Business Outlook

For the fourth quarter of 2024, Tuniu expects to generate RMB100.0 million to RMB105.0 million of net revenues, which represents a 0% to 5% increase year-over-year compared with net revenues in the corresponding period in 2023. This forecast reflects Tuniu’s current and preliminary view on the industry and its operations, which is subject to change.

Share Repurchase Update

In March 2024, the Company’s Board of Directors authorized a share repurchase program under which the Company may repurchase up to US$10 million worth of its ordinary shares or American depositary shares representing ordinary shares. As of November 30, 2024, the Company had repurchased an aggregate of approximately 6.2 million ADSs for approximately US$5.6 million from the open market under the share repurchase program.

Conference Call Information

Tuniu’s management will hold an earnings conference call at 8:00 am U.S. Eastern Time, on December 5, 2024, (9:00 pm, Beijing/Hong Kong Time, on December 5, 2024) to discuss the third quarter 2024 financial results.

To participate in the conference call, please dial the following numbers:

Conference ID: Tuniu 3Q 2024 Earnings Conference Call

A telephone replay will be available one hour after the end of the conference call through December 12, 2024. The dial-in details are as follows:

Replay Access Code: 6264965

Additionally, a live and archived webcast of the conference call will also be available on the Company’s investor relations website at http://ir.tuniu.com.

About Tuniu

Tuniu (Nasdaq: TOUR) is a leading online leisure travel company in China that offers integrated travel service with a large selection of packaged tours, including organized and self-guided tours, as well as travel-related services for leisure travelers through its website tuniu.com and mobile platform. Tuniu provides one-stop leisure travel solutions and a compelling customer experience through its online platform and offline service network, including a dedicated team of professional customer service representatives, 24/7 call centers, extensive networks of offline retail stores and self-operated local tour operators. For more information, please visit http://ir.tuniu.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements made under the “safe harbor” provisions of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as “will,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “future,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “estimates,” “confident” and similar statements. Tuniu may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its reports filed with or furnished to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in its annual report to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Any statements that are not historical facts, including statements about Tuniu’s beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements that involve factors, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Such factors and risks include, but are not limited to the following: Tuniu’s goals and strategies; the growth of the online leisure travel market in China; the demand for Tuniu’s products and services; its relationships with customers and travel suppliers; Tuniu’s ability to offer competitive travel products and services; Tuniu’s future business development, results of operations and financial condition; competition in the online travel industry in China; government policies and regulations relating to Tuniu’s structure, business and industry; the impact of health epidemics on Tuniu’s business operations, the travel industry and the economy of China and elsewhere generally; and the general economic and business condition in China and elsewhere. Further information regarding these and other risks, uncertainties or factors is included in the Company’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All information provided in this press release is current as of the date of the press release, and Tuniu does not undertake any obligation to update such information, except as required under applicable law.

About Non-GAAP Financial Measures

To supplement the Company’s unaudited consolidated financial results presented in accordance with United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”), the Company has provided non-GAAP information related to income from operations, net income, net income attributable to ordinary shareholders of Tuniu Corporation, which excludes share-based compensation expenses, amortization of acquired intangible assets and net gain on disposals of subsidiaries. The presentation of this non-GAAP financial measure is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. We believe that the non-GAAP financial measures used in this press release are useful for understanding and assessing underlying business performance and operating trends, and management and investors benefit from referring to these non-GAAP financial measures in assessing our financial performance and when planning and forecasting future periods.

This non-GAAP financial measure is not defined under U.S. GAAP and is not presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The non-GAAP financial measure has limitations as an analytical tool. Further, this non-GAAP measure may differ from the non-GAAP information used by other companies, including peer companies, and therefore its comparability may be limited. The Company compensates for these limitations by reconciling the non-GAAP financial measure to the nearest U.S. GAAP performance measure, all of which should be considered when evaluating performance. Tuniu encourages investors and others to review its financial information in its entirety and not rely on a single financial measure.

For more information on these non-GAAP financial measures, please see the table captioned “Reconciliations of GAAP and non-GAAP Results” set forth at the end of this press release.