BEIJING, Feb. 5, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- eLong, Inc. a leading mobile and online travel service provider in China, today reported unaudited financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2014.
Highlights – Fourth Quarter 2014
Hotel room nights stayed in the fourth quarter increased 27% to 9.4 million room nights compared to 7.4 million in the prior year period.
Mobile bookings comprised approximately 55% of eLong brand room nights* in the fourth quarter, and cumulative downloads of eLong mobile apps reached 132 million.
Domestic hotel coverage network expanded 186% to over 200,000 domestic hotels as of December 31, 2014, compared to 70,000 as of December 31, 2013.
More than 28,000 properties have contracted to use the free, cloud-based, multi-device hotel property management systems, Yunzhanggui and Zhuzhe, produced by our investee companies.
eLong named one of the "Top 10 Employers Most Followed by College Students" by Zhaopin.com and Beijing University.
Highlights – Full Year 2014
Hotel room nights stayed in 2014 increased 32% to 34.2 million room nights compared to 25.8 million in 2013.
Hotel revenue in 2014 increased 9% to RMB938.8 million (US$151.3 million), compared to RMB858.2 million (US$141.8 million) in 2013.
Net revenues in 2014 increased 8% to RMB1,086.2 million (US$175.1 million), compared to RMB1,009.7 million (US$166.8 million) in 2013.
"Our mobile lodging transactions have surpassed 100,000 per day on peak days; and our lodging network has grown to more than 200,000 properties in China and more than 400,000 properties worldwide. Facing fierce competition, we are innovating more quickly and investing more in our products, technology and people than at any time in our history. We will continue to invest in order to accelerate our growth in 2015," said Guangfu Cui, Chief Executive Officer of eLong.
* eLong brand room nights, excludes room nights from non-eLong brand distribution partners and resellers.
Business Results
Total Revenues
Total revenues by product for the fourth quarter of 2014 as compared to the same period in 2013 were as follows (in RMB million):
Total revenues by product for the full year 2014 as compared to 2013 were as follows (in RMB million):
Net Revenues
Net revenues for the fourth quarter decreased 6% to RMB246.2 million (US$39.7 million), compared to RMB261.0 million (US$43.1 million) in the fourth quarter of 2013.
Net revenues in 2014 increased 8% to RMB1,086.2 million (US$175.1 million), compared to RMB1,009.7 million (US$166.8 million) in 2013.
Gross Margin
Gross margin in the fourth quarter of 2014 decreased to 50% from 72% in the prior year quarter. Gross margin for full year 2014 decreased to 68%, compared to 74% in 2013. The decline in gross margin in the fourth quarter of 2014 and in the full year of 2014 was primarily due to lower hotel revenue per room night and the growth of prepurchased hotel room night transactions for which we recognize revenue on a gross basis.
Operating Expenses
Operating expenses for the fourth quarter of 2014 as compared to the same period in 2013 were as follows (in RMB million):
As of December 31, 2014, eLong held cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments and restricted cash of RMB1.9 billion (US$312 million), of which 91% was held in Renminbi and 9% was held in US dollars.
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