(Yicai Global) Dec. 30 — Shares of Didi Global plunged after the Chinese ride-hailing giant reported that net loss in the first three quarters widened by 1,350 percent due to high costs and expenses.
The firm’s loss reached CNY49.2 billion (USD7.7 billion) in the nine months ended Sept. 30, versus CNY3.4 billion (USD530 million) a year ago, according to Beijing-based Didi’s first unaudited quarterly earnings report posted after its debut in New York that was released yesterday. Revenue rose 40 percent to CNY133 billion (USD20.9 billion) in the period.
Didi’s total cost and expenses soared 72.9 percent in the first nine months to CNY175.4 billion from a year earlier, mainly due to a 48.7 percent increase in the cost of revenue.
Revenue from China Mobility, the business segment that includes ride-hailing and taxi services in China, brought in CNY123 billion in the first three quarters. Other categories such as food delivery, bike-sharing, electric bikes, freight, autonomous driving, and other financial services also contributed.
Didi’s third-quarter net loss and revenue fell 25.1 percent and 1.4 percent to CNY30.4 billion and CNY42.7 billion, respectively.
Core platform transactions for the third quarter were 2.86 billion, slightly lower than the 3 billion in the second quarter. The core platform gross transaction value was CNY68.7 billion, down 6.7 percent in the same period.
Didi [NYSE: DIDI] closed down 8.2 percent at USD4.94 yesterday. The stock has lost 70.3 percent of its value since its listing on the New York Stock Exchange on June 30.
On Dec. 3, Didi said it will start the process of delisting from the NYSE and begin preparatory work to go public in Hong Kong after the Cybersecurity Administration of China found that Didi’s main app had illegally collected the personal data of users.
Didi also announced on the same day that Zhang Yi will replace Daniel Zhang, who is also chairman and chief executive officer at Alibaba Group Holding, as the ride-hailer’s director of the board.
Editor: Futura Costaglione