NANJING, China, May 25, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tuniu Corporation , a leading online leisure travel company in China, today announced its unaudited financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2015.
Highlights for the First Quarter of 2015
Net revenues in the first quarter of 2015 increased by 115.9% year-over-year to RMB1,248.2 million (US$201.4 million).
Gross bookings2 which include organized tours and self-guided tours, increased by 116.9% to RMB1.9 billion (US$308.4 million) year-over-year in the first quarter of 2015.
Total number of trips from organized tours (excluding local tours) increased by 154.8% year-over-year and the total number of trips from self-guided tours increased by 200.2% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2015.
Mobile traffic contributed over 70% of total online traffic and 55% of total orders in the first quarter of 2015.
Mr. Donald Yu, Tuniu's co-founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, "We are pleased to report robust top-line and gross bookings year-over-year growth of 116% and 117%, respectively, in the first quarter of 2015. We were able to accelerate our market share growth by raising the industry's barriers to entry through regional expansion, increased product selection, brand promotion and improved services. By continuously making investments in the next three years, we are confident that Tuniu will strengthen its market position as a leading one-stop leisure travel company."
Mr. Alex Yan, Tuniu's co-founder, President and Chief Operating Officer, said, "The acceleration of our top-line growth is a direct result of the implementation of our long-term strategic investments starting from last year. The execution of our regional expansion strategy has made a significant contribution to our business as the new cities where we added regional service centers last year contributed to over 12% of our gross bookings in the first quarter of 2015. Going forward, we will continue to invest in supply chain management, mobile technology and research and development in order to further improve our customers' shopping experience."
Mr. Conor Yang, Tuniu's Chief Financial Officer, said, "We remain very optimistic on the growth outlook for China's leisure travel market and we are confident that Tuniu will maintain its leading position and competitiveness in the long run. With the additional funding received from JD.com and other investors earlier this month, we will continue to pursue strategic investments in order to solidify our market position in the rapidly growing leisure travel sector."
First Quarter 2015 Results
Net revenues were RMB1,248.2 million (US$201.4 million) in the first quarter of 2015, representing a year-over-year increase of 115.9% from the corresponding period in 2014. The increase was primarily due to the growth in revenues from both organized tours and self-guided tours. The number of trips sold increased by 134.6% to 659,032 in the first quarter of 2015 from 280,953 in the first quarter of 2014.
Revenues from organized tours, substantially all of which are recognized on a gross basis, were RMB1,201.4 million (US$193.8 million) in the first quarter of 2015, representing a year-over-year increase of 116.8% from the corresponding period in 2014. The increase was primarily due to the rapid growth in demand for travel to certain international destinations, such as Europe, North America, South Korea and Japan, and for domestic tours. In the first quarter of 2015, the number of trips of organized tours (excluding local tours) increased by 154.8% to 259,801 from 101,964 in the same period last year, and the number of trips of local tours increased by 77.7% to 200,213 from 112,687 in the first quarter of 2014.
Revenues from self-guided tours, which are recognized on a net basis, were RMB40.4 million (US$6.5 million) in the first quarter of 2015, representing a year-over-year increase of 77.3% from the corresponding period in 2014. The increase in revenues was primarily due to the growth in travel to the Maldives, South Korea, certain islands and domestic destinations. The number of trips of self-guided tours increased by 200.2% year-over-year to 199,018 in the first quarter of 2015 from 66,302 in the first quarter of 2014.
Other revenues, were RMB11.2 million (US$1.8 million) in the first quarter of 2015, representing a year-over-year increase of 105.2% from the corresponding period in 2014. The increase was primarily due to an increase in revenues from tourist attraction tickets and service fees received from insurance companies, and revenues from visa application and certain new businesses such as services fees associated with train tickets and air tickets, which are recognized on a net basis.
Business Outlook
For the second quarter of 2015, Tuniu expects to generate RMB 1,396.9 million to RMB 1,432.7 million of net revenues, which represents 95% to 100% growth year-over-year. This forecast reflects Tuniu's current and preliminary view on the industry and its operations, which is subject to change.
Read original press release
