DUBLIN and SHANGHAI, May 22, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PDD Holdings Inc. ("PDD Holdings" or the "Company") (NASDAQ:PDD), today announced its unaudited financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024. First Quarter 2024 Highlights Total revenues in the quarter were RMB86,812.1 million (US$112,023.3 million), an increase of 131% from RMB37,637.1 million in the same quarter of 2023. Operating profit in the quarter was RMB25,973.7 million (US$3,597.3 million), an increase of 275% from RMB6,929.0 million in the same quarter of 2023. Non-GAAP2 operating profit in the quarter was RMB28,552.2 million (US$3,954.4 million), an increase of 237% from RMB8,462.4 million in the same quarter of 2023. Net income attributable to ordinary shareholders in the quarter was RMB27,997.8 million (US$3,877.7 million), an increase of 246% from RMB8,101.0 million in the same quarter of 2023. Non-GAAP net income attributable to ordinary shareholders in the quarter was RMB30,601.8 million (US$4,238.3 million), an increase of 202% from RMB10,126.4 million in the same quarter of 2023. "We are committed to offering a trustworthy shopping environment for our users around the world," said Mr. Lei Chen, Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer of PDD Holdings. "We will keep focusing on growing our long-term intrinsic value through investing in initiatives that bring sustainable impacts to our communities." "This year is critical for us to deepen the execution of our high-quality development strategy," said Mr. Jiazhen Zhao, Executive Director and Co-Chief Executive Officer of PDD Holdings. "We will focus our efforts on improving the overall consumer experience, strengthening our supply chain capabilities, and fostering a healthy platform ecosystem." "In the first quarter, we continued our investment in key areas critical to our high-quality development strategy," said Ms. Jun Liu, VP of Finance of PDD Holdings. "Rather than focusing on short-term results, we prioritize long-term value creation and remain committed to further deepening our investments in the future."First Quarter 2024 Unaudited Financial Results Total revenues were RMB86,812.1 million (US$12,023.3 million), an increase of 131% from RMB37,637.1 million in the same quarter of 2023. The increase was primarily due to an increase in revenues from online marketing services and transaction services. Revenues from online marketing services and others were RMB42,456.2 million (US$5,880.1 million), an increase of 56% from RMB27,244.4 million in the same quarter of 2023. Revenues from transaction services were RMB44,355.8 million (US$6,143.2 million), an increase of 327% from RMB10,392.6 million in the same quarter of 2023. Total costs of revenues were RMB32,694.7 million (US$4,528.2 million), an increase of 194% from RMB11,125.3 million in the same quarter of 2023. The increase mainly came from the increased fulfilment fees, payment processing fees, maintenance costs and call center expenses. Total operating expenses were RMB28,143.7 million (US$3,897.9 million), an increase of 44% from RMB19,582.7 million in the same quarter of 2023. The increase was primarily due to an increase in sales and marketing expenses. Sales and marketing expenses were RMB23,410.7 million (US$3,242.3 million), an increase of 44% from RMB16,259.7 million in the same quarter of 2023, mainly due to the increased spending in promotion and advertising activities. General and administrative expenses were RMB1,823.4 million (US$252.5 million), an increase of 123% from RMB816.4 million in the same quarter of 2023, primarily due to an increase in staff related costs. Research and development expenses were RMB2,909.6 million (US$403.0 million), compared with RMB2,506.7 million in the same quarter of 2023. Operating profit in the quarter was RMB25,973.7 million (US$3,597.3 million), an increase of 275% from RMB6,929.0 million in the same quarter of 2023. Non-GAAP operating profit in the quarter was RMB28,552.2 million (US$3,954.4 million), an increase of 237% from RMB8,462.4 million in the same quarter of 2023. Net income attributable to ordinary shareholders in the quarter was RMB27,997.8 million (US$3,877.7 million), an increase of 246% from RMB8,101.0 million in the same quarter of 2023. Non-GAAP net income attributable to ordinary shareholders in the quarter was RMB30,601.8 million (US$4,238.3 million), an increase of 202% from RMB10,126.4 million in the same quarter of 2023. Basic earnings per ADS was RMB20.33 (US$2.82) and diluted earnings per ADS was RMB18.96 (US$2.63), compared with basic earnings per ADS of RMB6.13 and diluted earnings per ADS of RMB5.55 in the same quarter of 2023. Non-GAAP diluted earnings per ADS was RMB20.72 (US$2.83), compared with RMB6.92 in the same quarter of 2023. Net cash generated from operating activities was RMB21,067.2 million (US$2,917.8 million), compared with RMB1,338.0 million in the same quarter of 2023, mainly due to the increase in net income. Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments were RMB242.1 billion (US$33.5 billion) as of March 31, 2024, compared with RMB217.2 billion as of December 31, 2023. Conference Call The Company's management will hold an earnings conference call at 7:30 AM ET on May 22, 2024 (12:30 PM IST and 7:30 PM HKT on the same day). The conference call will be webcast live at https://investor.pddholdings.com/investor-events. The webcast will be available for replay at the same website following the conclusion of the call. Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures In evaluating the business, the Company considers and uses non-GAAP measures, such as non-GAAP operating profit, non-GAAP net income attributable to ordinary shareholders, non-GAAP diluted earnings per ordinary share and non-GAAP diluted earnings per ADS, as supplemental measures to review and assess operating performance. The presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("U.S. GAAP"). The Company's non-GAAP financial measures exclude the impact of share-based compensation expenses, fair value change of certain investments, and interest expenses related to the convertible bonds' amortization to face value. The Company presents these non-GAAP financial measures because they are used by management to evaluate operating performance and formulate business plans. The Company believes that the non-GAAP financial measures help identify underlying trends in its business by excluding the impact of share-based compensation expenses, fair value change of certain investments, and interest expenses related to the convertible bonds' amortization to face value, which are non-cash charges. The Company also believes that the non-GAAP financial measures may provide further information about the Company's results of operations, and enhance the overall understanding of the Company's past performance and future prospects. The Company's non-GAAP financial measures are not defined under U.S. GAAP and are not presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The non-GAAP financial measures have limitations as analytical tools. These non-GAAP financial measures do not reflect all items of income and expenses that affect the Company's operations and do not represent the residual cash flow available for discretionary expenditures. Further, these non-GAAP measures may differ from the non-GAAP information used by other companies, including peer companies, and therefore their comparability may be limited. The Company compensates for these limitations by reconciling the non-GAAP financial measures to the nearest U.S. GAAP performance measure, all of which should be considered when evaluating performance. The Company encourages you to review the Company's financial information in its entirety and not rely on a single financial measure. For more information on the non-GAAP financial measures, please see the table captioned "Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures to The Most Directly Comparable GAAP Measures" set forth at the end of this press release.Safe Harbor Statements This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "aims," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "confident," "potential," "continue" or other similar expressions. Among other things, the business outlook and quotations from management in this announcement, as well as the Company's strategic and operational plans, contain forward-looking statements. The Company may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its periodic reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), 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. Statements that are not historical facts, including but not limited to statements about the Company's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement, including but not limited to the following: the Company's growth strategies; its future business development, results of operations and financial condition; its ability to understand buyer needs and provide products and services to attract and retain buyers; its ability to maintain and enhance the recognition and reputation of its brand; its ability to rely on merchants and third-party logistics service providers to provide delivery services to buyers; its ability to maintain and improve quality control policies and measures; its ability to establish and maintain relationships with merchants; trends and competition in the e-commerce markets globally and in the countries or regions where the Company has operations; changes in its revenues and certain cost or expense items; the expected growth of e-commerce markets globally and in the countries or regions where the Company has operations; developments in the relevant governmental policies and regulations relating to the Company's industry; and general economic and business conditions globally and in the countries or regions where the Company has operations; and assumptions underlying or related to any of the foregoing. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in the Company's filings with the SEC. All information provided in this press release and in the attachments is as of the date of this press release, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law. About PDD Holdings PDD Holdings is a multinational commerce group that owns and operates a portfolio of businesses. PDD Holdings aims to bring more businesses and people into the digital economy so that local communities and small businesses can benefit from the increased productivity and new opportunities. PDD HOLDINGS INC.CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Amounts in thousands of Renminbi ("RMB") and U.S. dollars ("US$"))       As of     December 31, 2023   March 31, 2024     RMB   RMB   US$         (Unaudited)   (Unaudited) ASSETS             Current assets             Cash and cash equivalents   59,794,469   55,591,888   7,699,388 Restricted cash   61,985,436   59,113,029   8,187,060 Receivables from online payment platforms   3,914,117   4,769,048   660,506 Short-term investments   157,415,365   186,539,732   25,835,454 Amounts due from related parties   7,428,070   6,973,834   965,865 Prepayments and other current assets   4,213,015   3,482,432   482,311 Total current assets   294,750,472   316,469,963   43,830,584               Non-current assets             Property, equipment and software, net   979,597   881,008   122,018 Intangible assets   21,148   21,994   3,046 Right-of-use assets   4,104,889   3,953,936   547,614 Deferred tax assets   270,738   44,116   6,110 Other non-current assets   47,951,276   56,455,110   7,818,942 Total non-current assets   53,327,648   61,356,164   8,497,730               Total Assets   348,078,120   377,826,127   52,328,314               PDD HOLDINGS INC.CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Amounts in thousands of Renminbi ("RMB") and U.S. dollars ("US$"))       As of     December 31, 2023   March 31, 2024      RMB    RMB    US$          (Unaudited)    (Unaudited)           LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY       Current liabilities             Amounts due to related parties   1,238,776   1,369,891   189,728 Customer advances and deferred revenues   2,144,610   2,281,087   315,927 Payable to merchants   74,997,252   74,493,746   10,317,265 Accrued expenses and other liabilities   55,351,399   54,203,751   7,507,132 Merchant deposits   16,878,746   17,248,091   2,388,833 Convertible bonds, current portion   648,570   73,951   10,242 Lease liabilities   1,641,548   1,727,492   239,255 Total current liabilities   152,900,901   151,398,009   20,968,382               Non-current liabilities             Convertible bonds   5,231,523   5,240,608   725,816 Lease liabilities   2,644,260   2,437,620   337,606 Deferred tax liabilities   59,829   43,921   6,083 Total non-current liabilities   7,935,612   7,722,149   1,069,505               Total Liabilities   160,836,513