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HONG KONG, March 26, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Meituan (HKG: 3690) (the “Company”), China’s leading e-commerce platform for services, today announced the audited consolidated results of the Company for the year ended December 31, 2020.

Company Financial Highlights

As China’s economic recovery accelerated as a result of the effective containment of the COVID-19 pandemic, our businesses recovered steadily during 2020. Total revenues increased by 17.7% year over year to RMB114.8 billion from RMB97.5 billion in 2019. Although the operating loss for new initiatives and others segment expanded as we further accelerated our business expansion efforts to satisfy consumers’ growing needs, our food delivery and in-store, hotel & travel segments achieved an aggregate operating profit by segment of RMB11.0 billion in 2020, an increase from RMB9.8 billion in 2019. Both adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net profit experienced negative year-over-year growth and decreased to RMB4.7 billion and RMB3.1 billion in 2020, respectively. Our operating cash flow increased to RMB8.5 billion in 2020 from RMB5.6 billion in 2019. We had cash and cash equivalents of RMB17.1 billion and short-term treasury investments of RMB44.0 billion as of December 31, 2020, compared to the balances of RMB13.4 billion and RMB49.4 billion, respectively, as of December 31, 2019.

“As we look back at 2020, our nation has successfully mitigated the residual impacts of the pandemic, achieved commendable economic growth, and cultivated a conducive environment for both individual and corporate developments,” said Xing Wang, Chairman and CEO of Meituan. “We are a beneficiary of such developments and are therefore thankful for all of the positive changes that we have all experienced over the past year. Our most important tasks were helping the broader society to fight COVID-19, meeting the daily needs of consumers and help the business recovery of merchants in this very tough period.”

“We remained committed to accelerating the digitization of the broader industry over the long-term, increasing our investments in new opportunities and building new foundations for our long-term growth,” Wang said. “We will also commit to investing in future technology and driving innovation on every front to ensure our continued progress and the creation of more unique societal values.”

Company Business Highlights

Food delivery

Food delivery became an increasingly essential service throughout the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Meanwhile, our strength in consumer base, merchant base and delivery network remained strong and continued to generate powerful network effects during 2020, enabling us to achieve solid growth. In 2020, GTV of our food delivery business increased by 24.5% year over year to RMB488.9 billion. The growth rate for the number of food delivery transactions continued to surge year over year, with the daily average number of food delivery transactions increasing by 16.0% year over year to 27.7 million. The average value per order of our food delivery business increased by 7.0% year over year to RMB48.2. Monetization Rate of our food delivery business decreased to 13.6% from 14.0% in 2019. As a result, revenue increased by 20.8% year over year to RMB66.3 billion. Operating profit from food delivery business increased to RMB2.8 billion in 2020 from RMB1.4 billion in 2019, while operating margin increased to 4.3% from 2.6%. Our solid business performance in 2020 was a testament to our resilient business model and strong execution capabilities.

For the fourth quarter of 2020, GTV of our food delivery business increased by 39.4% year over year to RMB156.3 billion. The daily average number of food delivery transactions increased by 33.0% year over year to 36.2 million. The average value per order of our food delivery business increased by 4.8% year over year to RMB46.9. Monetization Rate of our food delivery business decreased to 13.8% from 14.0% in the same period of 2019. As a result, revenue increased by 37.0% year over year to RMB21.5 billion. Operating profit from our food delivery business increased to RMB882.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2020 from RMB482.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2019, while operating margin increased to 4.1% from 3.1%.

Thanks to our continuous effort to implement our effective food delivery membership program, refine the efficiency of our consumer marketing and operations, and augment the variety and quality of food delivery supplies on our platform, both the demand and supply sides continued to evolve into their next phases of growth during 2020. Lower-tier cities continued to be the main driver of our user growth in 2020, with a majority of new users still from third-tier cities and below. In the fourth quarter, quarterly transacting users and their purchase frequency both achieved healthy growth year over year. Meanwhile, monthly transacting users and their average transaction frequency also reached new highs during the quarter. Our food delivery membership program continued to ramp up the transaction frequency of high-potential consumers, while our monthly average membership subscribers more than doubled year over year. Certain consumption scenarios, such as breakfast, afternoon tea, and night-time snacks, continued to grow at a faster pace than other consumption scenarios such as lunch and dinner in the fourth quarter. Long-distance orders from more than 3 kilometers away also accounted for an ever larger share of our total delivery orders. Our consumer base and transaction frequency growth not only reflects consumers’ increasing preferences for food delivery and more consumption scenarios, but also demonstrates consumers’ ongoing trust in and recognition of our food delivery services.

On the merchant side, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated business digitization for more restaurants and made online operation improvement more important to them. Consequently, in 2020, the overall quality of restaurants on our platform improved, while the number of high-quality restaurants on our platform also grew meaningfully. Driven by the upgraded supply, the average value per order of our food delivery business increased by 7% year over year in 2020. Helping merchants accelerate digitalization and improve operations are critically important to us as we strive to better cater to consumers’ ever increasing demands and diversified consumption needs. In the fourth quarter, we launched the “New Restaurant Manager” program. Through this program, over the next three years, we plan to discover and train over one million restaurant owners or managers and to help them embrace the trend of digitization while increasing their profitability. By recognizing and solving merchant pain points, we have launched systems for merchant services, merchant growth, and talent training, respectively.

In terms of our delivery network, we faced an unexpected and challenging situation from the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, we remained committed to providing delivery riders, consumers, and merchants with the appropriate solutions. During the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, we quickly organized various teams to ensure that our delivery network maintained sufficient capacity. Meanwhile, we rolled out our pioneering “contactless delivery” method and organized nucleic testing for our delivery riders to provide our delivery riders and consumers with better protection. These measures reflected our quick emergency response capabilities as well as the ability of our delivery network to handle unexpected situations. By the end of 2020, a total of 9.5 million delivery riders had earned income on the Meituan platform. Among them, around 2.3 million came from impoverished counties and had therefore been effectively lifted out of poverty through their work with Meituan. Moreover, we launched “Tongzhou Project” in the fourth quarter, which is a project focusing on delivery riders that aims to improve their job security, work experiences, career paths, and social well-being. We also organized numerous discussion panels with our delivery riders to listen to their feedback and better understand their needs and challenges. As we advance into 2021, we will continue to develop this project as our delivery riders’ work and personal well-being remains a top priority.

In-store, hotel & travel

Benefitting from the effective containment of the COVID-19 pandemic, local consumption in China experienced a steady recovery, and our in-store, hotel & travel businesses, which were the most impacted businesses in 2020, gradually ramp back up, but has yet to fully recover to normal levels. Revenues from our in-store, hotel & travel businesses decreased by 4.6% year over year to RMB21.3 billion in 2020. Operating profit from our in-store, hotel & travel businesses decreased to RMB8.2 billion in 2020 from RMB8.4 billion in 2019, while operating margin increased to 38.5% from 37.7%.

For the fourth quarter of 2020, revenues from our in-store, hotel & travel businesses increased by 12.2% year over year to RMB7.1 billion, despite the reoccurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic in several cities. Operating profit from our in-store, hotel & travel businesses increased to RMB2.8 billion from RMB2.3 billion for the fourth quarter of 2019, while operating margin increased to 39.5% from 36.7%.

For our in-store dining business, we introduced more options for quality light meal restaurants to our platform during 2020, which helped to further expand our merchant base and increase both orders and revenues. For top national and local chain restaurants, we have designed innovative transaction-based products and supported their unique advertising needs. The number of these types of restaurants significantly increased throughout our ecosystem, with their sales also growing considerably as a result of our tailored services. By optimizing the operation system, we further leverage the merchant base of our food delivery business to expand our in-store dining merchant base. As a result, more high potential restaurants have adopted our in-store marketing products and our platform captured more cross-selling opportunities. For other in-store services, we effectively managed multiple service categories and improved our multi-dimensional operational capabilities in 2020 by correctly identifying the changes in consumer habits and future consumption trends. After the most severe periods of the COVID- 19 pandemic, some new categories have proven to be quite popular, such as auto-related services and escape rooms, with both of these categories achieving relatively high year-over-year growth rates in GTV in the period to outpace their pre-pandemic growth. Other critical categories also maintained their high-growth trajectories, including medical aesthetics, healthcare, petcare, and more. For example, our medical aesthetics sales grew by more than 70% year over year in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, we advanced our operational capabilities and better organized theme-based consumption festivals around holiday seasons, helping to better satisfy consumer demands and encourage local spending during 2020. For example, during the fourth quarter of 2020, we launched a series of promotional campaigns during Mid-Autumn Festival, National Day, Christmas and other festivals, such as “Double 11 Carnival,” “Double 12 Carnival,” “Wedding Festival,” “Mid-Autumn and National Day Food Festival” and more, all of these theme-based promotional campaigns were exceptionally well received by the market.

With respect to our hotel booking business, domestic room nights consumed on our platform declined by 9.7% year over year in 2020 due to the impact from the COVID-19 pandemic. Nonetheless, we took this opportunity to further solidify our advantages in consumer base, domestic supply and execution capabilities. During the year, the pent-up demand for overseas and long-distance domestic travel continued to spill over into domestic travel and weekend trip activity. In the fourth quarter, despite the reoccurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic in several cities hampered the recovery of consumption in these regions, consumer demand for hotel booking services in other cities continued to unleash, with domestic room nights consumed on our platform increasing by 8.8% year over year. We also effectively brought more offline users onto our platform and channeled them into online hotel booking during the quarter. Meanwhile, our platform’s high-star hotel supply and bookings both expanded, with high-star hotels accounting for an increasing share of our total hotel supply and our number of high-star hotel room nights accounting for more than 15% of our total room nights in the fourth quarter. Our expansion of five-star hotels was particularly successful as we became an increasingly attractive channel for these hotels to grow their customer bases and sales. Notably, among total domestic room nights consumed on our platform, the number of room nights from five-star hotels increased by more than 110% year over year in the fourth quarter.

New initiatives and others

During 2020, we continued to ramp up our investments in new initiatives, especially in areas that we believed to have promising long-term growth potential and fit well into our “Food + Platform” strategy. Revenues from the new initiatives and others segment increased by 33.6% year over year to RMB27.3 billion in 2020. Operating loss from new initiatives and others segment expanded to RMB10.9 billion 2020 from RMB6.7 billion in 2019, while operating margin decreased 6.7 percentage points year over year. For the fourth quarter of 2020, revenues from the new initiatives and others segment increased by 51.9% year over year to RMB9.2 billion. Operating loss for the segment increased both year over year and quarter over quarter to negative RMB6 billion in the fourth quarter of 2020, while the operating margin decreased to negative 64.9%.

The digitization of the broader local retail industry accelerated during 2020. Retail business has important strategic value to us and was the key investment area. During the fourth quarter, we quickly expanded our community e-commerce model “Meituan Select” in around 2,000 cities and counties. As a result, Meituan Select now covers more than 90% of the cities and counties in China. While this business is still at an early stage, we believe that it can create tremendous value for consumers and up-stream suppliers, including farmers. Through our efforts to build out our supply chain and “next-day” delivery capabilities, this business model provides users with broader SKU selections, much more convenient shopping experience and lower prices, and in turn allows us to acquire vast new user base in less accessible and rural areas. During the fourth quarter, through cooperation with many local governments across the country, we launched the “Agricultural Produce Direct Sourcing” program in some pilot areas such as Yunnan, Jilin, and Guangxi, to source produce directly from farmers to reduce intermediary costs, improve our supply chain efficiency, help farmers generate additional revenues, and lower product prices for consumers. Meanwhile, we also made upfront planning and investment in infrastructure including warehousing and fulfillment during the quarter, to ensure that we can handle large volumes of agricultural products smoothly and deliver them in optimal condition timely even to lower-tier markets. Our marketplace model “Meituan Instashopping” achieved stellar growth as we continued to broaden and diversify merchant base, build out our marketplace capabilities, and convert more food delivery consumers into non-food categories consumers. High-potential verticals, such as flowers, medicine and more, continued to achieve rapid growth as we continued to bring more quality suppliers and merchants online and encourage user consumption through effective marketing. As a result, Meituan Instashopping’s daily peak orders reached around 4.5 million in the fourth quarter. For our self-operated model, “Meituan Grocery,” as we continued to increase coverage density across Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, both the quarterly transacting users and transaction volume grew rapidly during the fourth quarter.

Overall, our food delivery and in-store, hotel & travel businesses continued to deliver solid results, demonstrated their unique values and have increasingly become a new infrastructure for peoples’ daily life in this challenging year of 2020. We reaffirm our belief that our food delivery and in-store, hotel & travel businesses have a significant runway for future growth and operation optimization over the long term. While our significant investments in new initiatives hampered our overall profitability in 2020, these new initiatives are also creating increasing value for consumers, merchants, our business partners, and the broader society. We remain committed to making investments in big opportunities that are capable of delivering long-term growth and providing consumers and all participants with more value. We believe community e-commerce is one of such big opportunities, and we will allocate sufficient resources to accelerate its development in 2021 while continuously improving its operating efficiency. Increasing investments in new initiatives may continue to cause significant negative impacts on our overall financial results, and the Company may continue to record operating losses in the next few quarters as we ramp up our community e-commerce business. However, we have always focused on long-term growth rather than short-term profits, adhering to a long-term oriented investment philosophy. More importantly, we remain optimistic about the prospects of China’s economic development. We believe that our determination to accelerate the digitization and online operation of the boarder industry over the long term will allow us to benefit from the digitization trend and industry growth. As such, we will continue to help merchants enhance operational efficiency across industries through innovations and better services, provide more convenience, as well as quality products and services at affordable cost for consumers, and create more value for the society with the help of technology, fulfilling our mission that “We help people eat better, live better.”

For the full announcement of Meituan 2020 full year results, please visit: https://www1.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2021/0326/2021032600589.pdf

About Meituan

Meituan (HKG: 3690) (the “Company”) is China’s leading e-commerce platform for services. With the mission of “We help people eat better, live better,” the Company’s platform uses technology to connect consumers and merchants. Service offerings on the platform address people’s daily needs for food, and extend further to broad lifestyle and travel services. Meituan is the world’s leading on-demand food delivery service provider and China’s leading e-commerce platform for in-store dining services. Meituan helps consumers discover merchant information, make informed decisions, complete online and offline transactions and enjoy on-demand delivery. The Company currently owns several household brands in China, including Meituan, China’s leading online marketplace for services, Dianping, China’s leading online destination for discovering local services, Meituan Waimai for on-demand delivery services, and Meituan Bikes for bike-sharing services. Meituan has 510.6 million Annual Transacting Users and 6.8 million Annual Active Merchants as of December 31, 2020. The Company operates in over 2,800 cities and counties in China.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements relating to the business outlook, forecast business plans and growth strategies of the Company. These forward-looking statements are based on information currently available to the Company and are stated herein on the basis of the outlook at the time of this press release. They are based on certain expectations, assumptions and premises, some of which are subjective or beyond our control. These forward-looking statements may prove to be incorrect and may not be realized in future. Underlying the forward-looking statements is a large number of risks and uncertainties. Further information regarding these risks and uncertainties is included in our other public disclosure documents on our corporate website.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Meituan


[email protected]

  


[email protected]

  

Edmond Lococo

ICR Inc.
Email:

[email protected]

 
Tel: +86 138-1079-1408

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SOURCE Meituan

BEIJING, March 26, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Leju Holdings Limited (“Leju” or the “Company”) (NYSE: LEJU), a leading e-commerce and online media platform for real estate and home furnishing industries in China, today announced its unaudited financial results for the fiscal quarter and full year ended December 31, 2020.

Fourth Quarter 2020 Financial Highlights

• Total revenues increased by 2% year-on-year to $230.4 million.
  – Revenues from online advertising services increased by 43% year-on-year to $60.1 million.
  – Revenues from e-commerce services decreased by 8% year-on-year to $170.1 million.
• Income from operations was $10.1 million, an increase of 12% from $9.0 million for the same quarter of 2019.
• Non-GAAP income from operations was $13.4 million, a decrease of 4% from $14.0 million for the same quarter of 2019.
• Net income attributable to Leju Holdings Limited shareholders was $6.1 million, or $0.04 per diluted American depositary share (“ADS”), an increase of 36% from $4.5 million, or $0.03 per diluted ADS, for the same quarter of 2019.
• Non-GAAP^[1] net income attributable to Leju Holdings Limited shareholders was $8.8 million, or $0.06 per diluted ADS, compared to $8.7 million, or $0.06 per diluted ADS, for the same quarter of 2019.

Full Year 2020 Financial Highlights

• Total revenues increased by 4% year-on-year to $719.5 million.
  – Revenues from online advertising services increased by 19% year-on-year to $170.8 million.
  – Revenues from e-commerce services was $547.9 million, a slight increase from $547.2 million for 2019.
• Income from operations was $24.1 million, an increase of 36% from $17.7 million for 2019.
• Non-GAAP income from operations was $38.3 million, an increase of 13% from $33.9 million for 2019.
• Net income attributable to Leju Holdings Limited shareholders was $19.3 million, or $0.14 per diluted ADS, an increase of 68% from $11.5 million, or $0.08 per diluted ADS for 2019.
• Non-GAAP net income attributable to Leju Holdings Limited shareholders was $30.7 million, or $0.22 per diluted ADS, an increase of 25% from $24.6 million, or $0.18 per diluted ADS for 2019.

“China’s new housing market experienced mild growth in transactions for the full year 2020, as a sharp decline at the beginning of the year due to the Covid-19 epidemic was followed by a substantial recovery later in the year,” said Mr. Geoffrey He, Leju’s Chief Executive Officer. “As developers increasingly recognized the importance of digital marketing, Leju’s online advertising services saw strong growth, while our e-commerce services turned in a steady performance. In the fourth quarter of 2020, Leju held a series of successful online promotions that further enhanced our brand recognition and boosted our media influence. In 2020, we held a total of eight well-received promotional events, kicking off with our ‘Online Sales Office’ during the Chinese Spring Festival. These activities helped to take our advertising services to the next level, supported steady growth for our e-commerce services, and significantly improved our industry coverage and overall service level.”

“In 2021, leveraging our strategic cooperation between Alibaba and E-House, Leju will seize new opportunities in digital marketing, roll out new advertising and e-commerce services, and ramp up our business scale. We will continue to optimize our operations and management, increase our efforts in attracting top talent, improve management and operational efficiency, and increase profit margins to provide a solid foundation for Leju’s future growth.”

Four Quarter 2020 Results

Total revenues
 were $230.4 million, an increase of 2% from $226.8 million for the same quarter of 2019, mainly due to an increase in revenues from online advertising services, partially offset by a decrease in revenues from e-commerce services.

Revenues from e-commerce services
 were $170.1 million, a decrease of 8% from $184.5 million for the same quarter of 2019, primarily due to a decrease in the number of discount coupons redeemed and a decrease in the average price per discount coupons redeemed.

Revenues from online advertising services
were $60.1 million, an increase of 43% from $42.0 million for the same quarter of 2019, primarily due to an increase in property developers’ demand for online advertising.

Revenues from listing services
 were $0.2 million, a decrease of 19% from $0.3 million for the same quarter of 2019, primarily due to a decrease in demand from secondary real estate brokers.

Cost of revenues
 was $17.8 million, an increase of 34% from $13.2 million for the same quarter of 2019, primarily due to increased cost of advertising resources purchased from media platforms related to the Company’s online advertising business.

Selling, general and administrative expenses
 were $202.6 million, a decrease of 1% from $204.2 million for the same quarter of 2019, primarily due to decreased labor cost, partially offset by increased advertising expenses relating to promotion activities for the same period of 2020.

Income from operations
 was $10.1 million, an increase of 12% from $9.0 million for the same quarter of 2019. Non-GAAP income from operations was $13.4 million, a decrease of 4% from $14.0 million for the same quarter of 2019.

Net income
was $7.2 million, an increase of 105% from $3.5 million for the same quarter of 2019. Non-GAAP net income was $9.9 million, an increase of 28% from $7.7 million for the same quarter of 2019.

Net income attributable to Leju Holdings Limited shareholders
 was $6.1 million, or $0.04 per diluted ADS, an increase of 36% from $4.5 million, or $0.03 per diluted ADS, for the same quarter of 2019. Non-GAAP net income attributable to Leju Holdings Limited shareholders was $8.8 million, or $0.06 per diluted ADS, compared to $8.7 million, or $0.06 per diluted ADS, for the same quarter of 2019.

Full year 2020 Results

Total revenues
 were $719.5 million, an increase of 4% from $692.6 million for 2019, mainly due to an increase in revenues from online advertising services.

Revenues from e-commerce services
 were $547.9 million, a slightly increase from $547.2 million for 2019, primarily due to an increase in the number of discount coupons redeemed, partially offset by a decrease in the average price per discount coupon redeemed.

Revenues from online advertising services
were $170.8 million, an increase of 19% from $143.8 million for 2019, primarily due to an increase in property developers’ demand for online advertising.

Revenues from listing services
 were $0.8 million, a decrease of 48% from $1.6 million for 2019, primarily due to a decrease in demand from secondary real estate brokers. 

Cost of revenues
 was $73.8 million, an increase of 8% from $68.3 million for 2019, primarily due to increased cost of advertising resources purchased from media platforms related to the Company’s online advertising business.

Selling, general and administrative expenses
 were $622.0 million, an increase of 2% from $607.2 million for 2019, primarily due to increased advertising expenses relating to promotion activities for 2020, partially offset by decreased labor cost.

Income from operations
 was $24.1 million, an increase of 36% from $17.7 million for 2019. Non-GAAP income from operations was $38.3 million, an increase of 13% from $33.9 million for 2019.

Net income
was $21.0 million, an increase of 93% from $10.9 million for 2019. Non-GAAP net income was $32.4 million, an increase of 35% from $23.9 million for 2019.

N


et income attributable to Leju Holdings Limited shareholders
 was $19.3 million, or $0.14 per diluted ADS, an increase of 68% from $11.5 million, or $0.08 per diluted ADS for 2019. Non-GAAP net income attributable to Leju Holdings Limited shareholders was $30.7 million, or $0.22 per diluted ADS, an increase of 25% from $24.6 million, or $0.18 per diluted ADS for 2019.

Cash Flow

As of December 31, 2020, the Company’s cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash were $285.7 million.

Fourth quarter 2020 net cash provided in operating activities was $11.8 million, primarily comprised of non-GAAP net income of $9.9 million, a decrease in amounts due from related parties of $8.6 million, a decrease in deferred tax assets of $11.1 million, partially offset by a decrease in amounts due to related parties of $16.3 million.

Business Outlook

The Company estimates that its total revenues of 2021 will be approximately $755 million to $790 million, which would represent an increase of approximately 5% to 10% from $719.5 million for 2020. This forecast reflects the Company’s current and preliminary view, which is subject to change.

Changes in Board and Committee Composition

The Company also announced that Mr. Zhe Wei has resigned as a director of the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”) and the chairperson of the audit committee. The Board has appointed Mr. Winston Li as the new chairperson of the audit committee to replace Mr. Zhe Wei, appointed Mr. Hongchao Zhu as a member of the nominating and corporate governance committee, and appointed Mr. Jian Sun as a member of the audit committee, effective March 26, 2021. Mr. Jian Sun has concurrently resigned as a member of Leju’s nominating and corporate governance committee.

“We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Mr. Zhe Wei for his dedication and valuable contributions over the past few years,” said Mr. Xin Zhou, Leju’s Executive Chairman. “We also look forward to continuing working with Mr. Winston Li, Mr. Jian Sun and Mr. Hongchao Zhu as members of the board. We are confident that Leju will benefit from their valuable insights and extensive experience.”

Conference Call Information

Leju’s management will host an earnings conference call on March 26, 2021 at 7 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time (7 p.m.Beijing/Hong Kong time).

Please register in advance of the conference using the link provided below and dial in 10 minutes prior to the call, using participant dial-in numbers, Direct Event passcode and unique registrant ID which would be provided upon registering. You will be automatically linked to the live call after completion of this process, unless required to provide the conference ID below due to regional restrictions.

PRE-REGISTER LINK: http://apac.directeventreg.com/registration/event/9117658

CONFERENCE ID: 9117658

A replay of the conference call may be accessed by phone at the following number until April 3, 2021:

Additionally, a live and archived webcast will be available at http://ir.leju.com.

About Leju

Leju Holdings Limited (“Leju”) (NYSE: LEJU) is a leading e-commerce and online media platform for real estate and home furnishing industries in China, offering real estate e-commerce, online advertising and online listing services. Leju’s integrated online platform comprises various mobile applications along with local websites covering more than 380 cities, enhanced by complementary offline services to facilitate residential property transactions. In addition to the Company’s own websites, Leju operates the real estate and home furnishing websites of SINA Corporation, and maintains a strategic partnership with Tencent Holdings Limited. For more information about Leju, please visit http://ir.leju.com.

Safe Harbor: Forward-Looking Statements

This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in 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,” “target,” “going forward,” “outlook” and similar statements. Leju may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its reports filed or furnished with 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. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about Leju’s beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements that involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained, either expressly or impliedly, in any of the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to, fluctuations in China’s real estate market; the highly regulated nature of, and government measures affecting, the real estate and internet industries in China; Leju’s ability to compete successfully against current and future competitors; its ability to continue to develop and expand its content, service offerings and features, and to develop or incorporate the technologies that support them; its reliance on SINA and others with which it has developed, or may develop in the future, strategic partnerships; substantial revenue contribution from a limited number of real estate markets; and relevant government policies and regulations relating to the corporate structure, business and industry of Leju. 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 the Company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable law.

About Non-GAAP Financial Measures

To supplement Leju’s consolidated financial results presented in accordance with United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”), Leju uses in this press release the following non-GAAP financial measures: (1) income (loss) from operations, (2) net income (loss), (3) net income (loss) attributable to Leju shareholders, (4) net income (loss) attributable to Leju shareholders per basic ADS, and (5) net income (loss) attributable to Leju shareholders per diluted ADS, each of which excludes share-based compensation expense, amortization of intangible assets resulting from business acquisitions, and income tax impact on the share-based compensation expense and amortization of intangible assets resulting from business combinations. 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 GAAP. For more information on these non-GAAP financial measures, please see the table captioned “Unaudited Reconciliation of GAAP and Non-GAAP Results” set forth at the end of this press release.

Leju believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide meaningful supplemental information to investors regarding its operating performance by excluding share-based compensation expense and amortization of intangible assets resulting from business acquisitions, which may not be indicative of Leju’s operating performance. These non-GAAP financial measures also facilitate management’s internal comparisons to Leju’s historical performance and assist its financial and operational decision making. A limitation of using these non-GAAP financial measures is that share-based compensation expense and amortization of intangible assets resulting from business acquisitions may continue to exist in Leju’s business for the foreseeable future. Management compensates for these limitations by providing specific information regarding the GAAP amounts excluded from each non-GAAP measure. The accompanying tables provide more details on the reconciliation between non-GAAP financial measures and their most comparable GAAP financial measures.

For investor and media inquiries please contact:

Ms. Christina Wu
Leju Holdings Limited
Phone: +86 (10) 5895-1062
E-mail: [email protected]

Philip Lisio

Foote Group
Phone: +86 135-0116-6560
E-mail: [email protected]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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SOURCE Leju Holdings Limited

72 hours into the Daymak Avvenire Product Launch, Total Pre-Orders Surpass Expectations

VANCOUVER, BC, March 26, 2021 /CNW/ – Extreme Vehicle Battery Technologies Corp. (the “Company” or “EVBatteryTech“) (CSE: ACDC) is pleased to announce that its partner, Daymak International Inc. (“Daymak“), has begun accepting pre-orders for its new Avvenire Products.

All of the Daymak Avvenire products are expected to be equipped with customized IoniX Pro Lithium-Ion battery packs, which will be equipped with EV Battery Tech’s patented and AI powered battery management system (BMS). Daymak estimates that over 30% of its production cost will be in the battery and BMS systems from by IoniX Pro.

All retail pre-orders are potential sales and require a minimum deposit² and distributor pre-orders require a letter of interest. All deposits are non-refundable.

“We are extremely pleased with the numbers we have seen in the first 3 days of pre-orders but fully believe we have just started scratching the surface as far as the total number of pre-orders go,” said Aldo Baiocchi President of Daymak.

Daymak is already Canada’s largest Light Electric Vehicle (LEV) distributor, with one of the largest distribution networks in North America which includes Walmart, Costco, TSC, QVC, Best Buy, Hudson’s Bay plus a network of 150 dealers across Canada and the USA.  Daymak also has showrooms in Los Angeles, California, Toronto, Ontario, and Rome, Italy with more expected in the future.

“In the first quarter of 2021 we primarily focused on bringing state of the art ESS products to the market,” said Robert Abenante, IoniX Pro Chief Innovation Officer. “We are now ready to shift our focus to these custom battery packs for Daymak’s impressive line of Avvenire Products.”

The Flagship Electric Vehicle from Daymak is expected to hit the streets in 2023 according to Daymak.

“We are beyond excited to see these beautifully crafted EVs on the street in the near future and we know every ride in one of your vehicles will be a memorable one.” concluded Mr. Baiocchi.

For a live counter of pre-order sales please visit http://daymakavvenire.com/campaign/.

On behalf of the Company, 

Bryson Goodwin,  
Chief Executive Officer 

About EV Battery Tech 

Extreme Vehicle Battery Technologies Corp. is a blockchain and battery technology company with revolutionary, patented Battery Management Systems (BMS) designed to meet the growing demand for scalable, smart solutions for the rapidly growing Electric Vehicle (EV) and Energy Storage Solution (ESS) markets. The company has committed to assisting global recycling solutions by offering recycling initiatives using their technology to analyze and fully refurbish used batteries.

About Daymak International Inc.

Daymak, a Toronto-based company incorporated in 2002, is a leading developer and distributor of personal light electric vehicles. Daymak’s goal is to make outstanding clean vehicles that make a positive impact on the environment for today and future generations. Daymak builds its vehicles to give freedom of movement and are a joy to ride.

Daymak’s current customers include Walmart, Costco, TSC, QVC, Best Buy, Hudson’s Bay plus a network of 150 dealers across Canada and the USA. Daymak also has showrooms in Los Angeles, California, Toronto, Ontario, and Rome, Italy with more expected in the future. Daymak was also the recipient of the “Clean Tech North Award”, and Profit Magazine’s Top 100, 200 fastest growing Canadian companies while also being named “One of Ontario’s Greenest Companies.” 

About AlphaOne Media Group Inc. 

AlphaOne Media Group Inc. (“AlphaOne”) is a full-service Investor Relations and Marketing company that focusses on both private and public companies. AlphaOne offers communication services such as investor relations as well as marketing services over several mediums to provide effective, thorough market awareness programs that are specifically designed to maximize exposure and bring value to shareholders. AlphaOne’s dedicated and experienced team strives to promote its clients to the public and educate potential investors on their developments. 

The CSE (operated by CNSX Markets Inc.) has neither approved nor disapproved of the contents of this press release. 

Forward Looking Statements

Statements in this news release that are forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including the specific factors disclosed here and elsewhere in EV Battery Tech’s periodic filings with Canadian securities regulators. When used in this news release, words such as “will”, “hope”, “could”, “plan”, “estimate”, “expect”, “intend”, “may”, “potential”, “believe”, “should”, “projected”, “proposed”, “rendering” and similar expressions, are forward-looking statements.

The information in this news release includes certain information and statements about management’s view of future events, expectations, plans and prospects that constitute forward-looking statements. These statements are based upon assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements respecting (i) Daymak’s pre-sales; (ii) the supply of IonIX Pro Lithium Ion battery pack and batteries to Daymak; (iii) Daymak’s specifications for the Spiritus and Avvenire products generally; (iv) the Company’s ability to bring its products to market; (v) increasing demand for electric vehicles, charging stations, and other battery products, including those of EV Battery Tech; (vi) the US government’s intention to increase its use of electric vehicles; (vii) the Company’s ability to satisfy the demand for its products; and (ix) the Company’s prospects for 2021. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurances that the expectations of any forward-looking statement will prove to be correct. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in assumptions, changes in factors affecting such forward-looking statements or otherwise.  

 

SOURCE EV Battery Tech

BARCELONA, Spain, March 26, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Fluidra (OTC: FLUIF) (LSE: 0ILI), the global leader in the pool and wellness equipment sector, continues generating shareholder value in 2021. The Board of Directors has agreed to propose to the General Shareholders’ Meeting a dividend payout of 0.40 euros per share charged to voluntary reserves.

The company resumed its dividend payout after the merger in 2020 with the payment of 0.21 euros per share last October and now proposes a 90% increase for 2021. If approved, Fluidra will execute a first payment of 0.2 euros per share on 6 July and another of 0.2 euros on 3 November. At current share prices, this means a dividend yield of around 1.7%.

This significant rise in the payout to investors is backed by strong cash flow, a healthy balance sheet and the soundness of the sector in general and Fluidra’s in particular. The payout will amount to a maximum of 78 million euros and is subject to approval by the General Shareholders’ Meeting to be celebrated on 6 May.

Following record results last year, the company carried over 99 million euros to voluntary reserves, which by far covers the payout of 0.4 euros per share proposed by the Board of Directors.

“The payment of dividends to our shareholders is one of our hallmarks. The soundness of our business and balance sheet, together with a strong cash flow, allow us to finance initiatives that deliver value to our stakeholders, including both shareholder remuneration and inorganic growth operations”, highlighted Eloi Planes, Fluidra’s Executive President.

The multinational continued executing accretive acquisitions this year, announcing the purchase of the US company CMP for 245 million US dollars. Fluidra also recently announced the assets purchase of Built Right for 10 million US dollars and the signing of an asset purchase agreement for the Splash and Zen business in Belgium for 3.5 million euros plus earn-outs. The latter is expected to close in September 2021.

 

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SOURCE Fluidra

SOUTHAMPTON, England, March 26, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Cunard is offering UK guests the opportunity to spend this summer at sea, with a series of UK voyages on board Queen Elizabeth.  Voyages will be round-trip from Southampton, between July and October 2021, and comprise of British Isles scenic cruising and special Sun Voyages, sailing to wherever the sun shines brightest.

Ten British Isles Voyages and three Sun Voyages, lasting between three and twelve nights, are available. Guests will be able to experience the most luxurious summer at sea enjoying exquisite fine dining, the on-board spa and spectacular entertainment while having the opportunity to see the UK’s coastline from a unique vantage point.

British Isles Voyages include scenic sailings along Britain’s coastline including The Jurassic Coast, England’s only natural UNESCO world heritage site, Cornwall including Land’s End and Scotland including the Isle of Arran, Mull of Kintyre and Sound of Mull. Four voyages will make various port calls, including Liverpool, Greenock, Invergordon, Belfast, Newcastle as well as a maiden call for Cunard’s fleet to the Welsh port of Holyhead.

Four night scenic British Isles Voyages are priced from £599 per person for a Balcony Stateroom, while a ten night British Isles Voyage will start at £1,299 per person for a Balcony Stateroom. Seven night Sun Voyages are priced from £899 per person for a Balcony Stateroom.

Cunard president Simon Palethorpe said: “Cunard’s Summer at Sea luxury UK voyages are a truly unique way for guests to have a much-needed break this summer. With international travel not yet fully opened up we’re delighted to offer these voyages exclusively for British guests to experience a staycation unlike any other, as they relax in Cunard luxury knowing we will take care of everything.

“Guests can sail along some of the most stunning coastlines anywhere in the world, as Queen Elizabeth provides a unique vantage point, or sail on one of our Sun Voyages where the destination is unscripted and is guided by studying the weather forecast and heading to where the sun shines brightest.”

Given the advanced progress of the UK vaccination programme, and strongly expressed preference on the part of our guests for this limited series of UK coastal cruises, these sailings on Queen Elizabeth will be for UK resident Covid-19 vaccinated* guests only. All other voyages on sale currently do not require guests to be vaccinated. 

All guests and crew will be required to follow enhanced health and wellbeing measures to protect everyone on board on these cruises. These have been developed with guidance from our global medical and public health experts and scientists and in close coordination with UK government agencies. These protocols include enhanced sanitation measures, appropriate social distancing and the wearing of masks in certain areas of the ship. Crew will also undergo a strict testing and quarantine regime as well as regular testing during their time on board. Our protocols are subject to change, as we will continue to work with our experts and with government bodies to ensure all of our practices evolve in line with latest advice, with our primary focus always being to protect the health and wellbeing of our crew and guests and the communities we visit.  Travel insurance will also be mandatory for all guests.**

The cruises go on sale Wednesday March 31, 2021 at 10am. To book visit www.cunard.com or telephone 0344 338 8641 or contact a travel agent.

For official Cunard photography, please register details at: https://cunard.assetbank-server.com

Note to editors

*Vaccine policy

Given the advanced progress of the UK vaccination programme and strong expressed preference on the part of our guests for this limited series of UK coastal cruises, these sailings on Queen Elizabeth will be for UK resident, Covid-19 vaccinated guests only.

For these cruises the definition of “vaccinated” is a minimum of seven days following the second dose of the currently approved Covid-19 vaccines being administered. Proof of vaccination and the dates given will be required (approved forms of evidence will be confirmed closer to time of departure) and this will be required to be shown at the terminal prior to boarding. Failure to provide this evidence will result in denial of boarding. There is no age restriction on this series of UK coastal cruises but all guests of all ages must meet the requirements of the Covid-19 vaccination policy.

All other voyages on sale currently do not require guests to be vaccinated. 

**Travel insurance

As part of our health and wellbeing protocols it is mandatory for all UK guests to have suitable travel insurance cover in order to cruise with us. Travel insurance ensures that our guests can relax and enjoy their holiday with peace of mind that they are covered for most eventualities. This includes unforeseen incidents before their holiday, while travelling or while they are away. Typically, travel insurance covers cancellation of your holiday, stolen belongings and medical treatment. Insurance documents will be checked at the terminal and boarding will be denied, at guests’ own expense, for anyone without appropriate cover.

Enhanced protocols

All guests and crew will be required to follow enhanced health and wellbeing measures to protect everyone on board on these cruises. These have been developed with guidance from our global medical and public health experts and scientists, and in close coordination with UK Government agencies.

In line with our requirement that crew wear face masks on board, guests will also be required to wear a face mask in certain public areas of the ship. Enhanced sanitation measures and social distancing will also be in place. Crew will undergo a strict testing and quarantine regime as well as regular testing during their time on board. These protocols are subject to change, as we will continue to work with our experts and with government bodies to ensure all of our policies evolve in line with latest advice, with our primary focus always being to protect the health and wellbeing of our crew and guests and the communities we visit.

Sail with confidence with Cunard’s free flexible transfers, vaccination policy and enhanced well-being protocols 

Guests can transfer their voyage as many times as they like before balance due date. The balance is due 30 days prior to the departure date of the cruise. Options include:

• Transfer the booking to any Cunard voyage currently on sale
• Transfer the booking to a voyage of higher or lower value
• Transfer the booking an unlimited number of times
• Transfer the booking free of charge.

With Cunard’s flexible free transfers, guests can sail with confidence. Bookings may be changed unlimited times free of charge up to 30 days before the voyage departs.

About Cunard

Cunard is a luxury British cruise line, renowned for creating unforgettable experiences around the world. Cunard has been a leading operator of passenger ships on the North Atlantic, since 1840, celebrating an incredible 180 years of operation. A pioneer in transatlantic journeys for generations, Cunard is world class. The Cunard experience is built on fine dining, hand-selected entertainment and outstanding service. From five-star restaurants and in-suite dining to inspiring guest speakers, the library and film screenings, every detail has been meticulously crafted to make the experience unforgettable. There are currently three Cunard ships, Queen Mary 2, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria with destinations including Europe, the Caribbean, the Far East and Australia. In 2017, Cunard announced plans to add a fourth ship to its fleet to be launched in 2022.  This investment is part of the company’s ambitious plans for the future of Cunard globally and will be the first time since 1998 that Cunard will have four ships in simultaneous service. Cunard is based at Carnival House in Southampton and has been owned since 1998 by Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE:CUK).   

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SOURCE Cunard

NEW YORK, March 26, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — UP Fintech Holding Limited (the “Company”, a NASDAQ-listed company under the ticker “TIGR”, and all of its subsidiaries and consolidated entities), a leading online brokerage firm focusing on global investors, posted its first full-year profit and laid out plans for further international expansion over the coming years after gaining popularity in Singapore.

Fourth quarter revenue rose 136.5% to US$47.2 million, compared with revenue of US$20.0 million in same quarter of 2019. UP Fintech generated US$10.3 million in Non-GAAP net income in the fourth quarter, approximately 29 times higher than the US$0.3 million the company reported in the same quarter of last year. For the full year, the company reported revenues of US$138.5 million, US$77.6 million of which was commission revenue. Commission revenue was bolstered by an increase in the firm’s user base and trading activity. Non-GAAP Net income for the year came in at US$22.3 million, compared with a loss of US$1.8 million in 2019.

Total account balance increased by US$5 billion in the fourth quarter and reached US$16.0 billion, an increase of 215.9% since the end of 2019. The firm added 44,000 funded accounts in the fourth quarter, 3.9 times the number of new funded accounts in the same quarter of last year; the total number of funded accounts more than doubled in 2020.

“We again recorded significant increases in client accounts and assets, supported by strong demand for online financial services and increased trading activities in the equity market,” stated Mr. Wu Tianhua, CEO of UP Fintech. “With a diverse set of licenses, our internationalization strategy continues to progress nicely and is now a new driver for our growth. During the quarter we participated in eight IPOs, of which we underwrote three. For the full year we participated in 26 U.S. IPOs of Chinese-based companies and served as an underwriter in 14 of them. Our leadership position in underwriting for Chinese ADR issuers in the U.S. continued to yield significant benefits as it led to more IPO subscriptions being available to our retail clients. We also added 35 ESOP clients in the fourth quarter for a cumulative total of 124 clients. Despite having only started our ESOP business two years ago, we have been able to gain substantial market share due to the enhanced user experience of our system.”

The company’s flagship trading app, Tiger Trade, has formed a closed-loop platform for trading, social networking, and financial media. By adding more investment tools and products such as grey market for Hong Kong IPOs, the firm continues to boost its brand recognition and retail client stickiness. 

“We are enthusiastic about the year ahead as we will continue to leverage our technological capabilities to build an integrated trading platform for global clients with a comprehensive product offering,” Wu added.

Safe Harbor Statement

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,” “future,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “estimates” and similar statements. Among other statements, 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 (“SEC”) on Forms 20-F and 6-K, 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 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; trends and competition in global financial markets; the effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic; and governmental policies relating to the Company’s industry and general economic conditions in China and other countries. 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.

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SOURCE UP Fintech Holding Limited

SHANGHAI, March 26, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Yum China Holdings, Inc. (the “Company” or “Yum China“, NYSE: YUMC and HKEX: 9987) announced the establishment of its Southwest Supply Chain Support Center in Chengdu’s Chongzhou district during a groundbreaking ceremony today.

The Southwest Supply Chain Support Center in Chengdu is Yum China’s first greenfield project, with a total investment of approximately RMB 183 million. It covers an area of approximately 34,000 square meters and is expected to be ready for service by mid-2022. The center combines integrated supply chain services, Internet of Things (IoT) technology, big data platforms and high-quality cold chain logistics facilities. It will further enhance Yum China’s supply chain capabilities and cold chain logistics service in Southwest China and support the Company’s rapid development.

“From the opening of the first KFC store in 1987, to over 10,000 stores in more than 1,500 cities today, a world-class smart, efficient and agile supply chain has always been essential to our growth,” said Joey Wat, CEO of Yum China. “The pandemic in 2020 reinforced Yum China’s determination to further invest in our supply chain infrastructure to better respond to external challenges. Looking forward, Yum China aims to create a stronger and more agile supply chain network to support the Company’s long-term growth, allowing us to reach the goal of 20,000 stores even faster.”

Since entering China more than 30 years ago, Yum China has invested heavily in the creation of a world-class supply chain management system that covers all stages from farm to fork. As of the end of 2020, Yum China had 25 logistics centers and 7 consolidation centers, covering more than 1,500 cities. Yum China also utilizes extra capacity of logistics facilities to provide one-stop customized solutions to third parties. An advanced and comprehensive cold chain design is employed at logistics facilities to ensure that the temperatures of chillers, freezers, inbound and outbound deliveries always meet Yum China’s standards.

Since 2016, Yum China has embarked on an intelligent supply chain initiative that utilizes big data, IoT, artificial intelligence, and other cutting-edge technologies. The Company has established an intelligent supply chain that ensures food safety and quality management throughout the value chain. Yum China’s intelligent IoT platform enables real-time monitoring of products and ambient temperature in in-transit vehicles across the country. The warehouse management system (WMS) is also in place to enable product e-tracking from suppliers to logistics centers, and to restaurants.

In the future, Yum China plans to step up investment in digital, logistics and other operational infrastructure, and work with partners to jointly build an innovative and industry leading supply chain.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts and by the use of forward-looking words such as “expect,” “expectation,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “may,” “could,” “intend,” “belief,” “plan,” “estimate,” “target,” “predict,” “likely,” “will,” “should,” “forecast,” “outlook,” “look forward to” or similar terminology. These statements are based on current estimates and assumptions made by us in light of our experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors that we believe are appropriate and reasonable under the circumstances, but there can be no assurance that such estimates and assumptions will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance and are inherently subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and could cause our actual results to differ materially from those indicated by those statements. We cannot assure you that any of our expectations, estimates or assumptions will be achieved. The forward-looking statements included in this press release are only made as of the date of this press release, and we disclaim any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement to reflect subsequent events or circumstances, except as required by law. All forward-looking statements should be evaluated with the understanding of their inherent uncertainty. You should consult our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (including the information set forth under the captions “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations ” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q) for additional detail about factors that could affect our financial and other results.

About Yum China Holdings, Inc.

Yum China Holdings, Inc. is a licensee of Yum! Brands in mainland China. It has exclusive rights in mainland China to KFC, China’s leading quick-service restaurant brand, Pizza Hut, the leading casual dining restaurant brand in China, and Taco Bell, a California-based restaurant chain serving innovative Mexican-inspired food. Yum China also owns the Little Sheep, Huang Ji Huang, East Dawning and COFFii & JOY concepts outright. In addition, Yum China has partnered with Lavazza to explore and develop the Lavazza coffee shop concept in China. The Company had 10,506 restaurants in over 1,500 cities at the end of December 2020. Yum China ranked # 361 on the Fortune 500 list for 2020. Yum China has been named the Industry Leader for the Restaurant & Leisure Facilities Industry in the 2020 Dow Jones Sustainability Indices. In 2021, Yum China was named to the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index and was certified as a Top Employer 2021 in China by the Top Employers Institute, both for the third consecutive year. For more information, please visit http://ir.yumchina.com.

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SOURCE Yum China Holdings, Inc.

STOCKHOLM, March 26, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — LeoVegas, through LeoVentures, is investing EUR 1.1 m for 25% of the shares in SharedPlay with an option to increase its ownership in the future in accordance with predefined conditions. SharedPlay is a new company that enables players to share their gaming experiences with each other, among other things through the industry’s first solution for playing casino games in multiplayer mode. The company was founded by Karolina Pelc, one of the most prominent profiles widely associated with casino product and innovation expertise.

Interest in sharing and following each other’s experiences online has long been popular in other entertainment categories such as computer games, music and film. This trend is now growing also in gaming and casino. SharedPlay’s mission is to transform solitary game sessions into engaging multiplayer and entertaining experiences. This is made possible by being part of a social community while playing and enables players to share their experiences digitally. 

“We see a new behaviour in the gaming market as well as in many other digital consumer segments – it’s about sharing your fun and excitement with your friends, but also with others who have the same interest,” comments Gustaf Hagman, LeoVegas’ Group CEO. “The team we are investing in is world-class, and SharedPlay has a unique position with the opportunity to drive the next step in the social casino experience.”

Karolina Pec, founder and CEO of SharedPlay, comments: “SharedPlay was established to capitalise on the opportunities that exist in the current trends in our rapidly growing industry. I have closely followed the development of social platforms, how we consume moving pictures, and how it has become part of the gaming industry. We aim to create the best and most engaging product for making casino more social among players. There is incredible potential in the strong engagement that exists among the new generation of casino players combined with a safe and secure gaming experience. LeoVegas is a dream partner, as they are passionate about the gaming experience and innovation in product development, and have shown through their other investments that they are proficient at driving growth and creating value.”

About SharedPlay

SharedPlay is the gaming industry’s first B2B solution with an SaaS model that makes it possible to offer a gaming experience in multiplayer mode. SharedPlay will offer a cutting edge technology solution allowing players to play together, share the excitement of the game and interact with each other through a variery of social features. Read more at their corporate site sharedplay.io.

Leoventure’s investment focus

LeoVegas aspires to be the most innovative, entrepreneurial and tech-oriented company in the gaming industry. LeoVentures is LeoVegas’ unit for investing in entrepreneurial companies in various verticals of the industry and thereby contributes strategic value to the LeoVegas Group. LeoVentures has the ability to drive growth and value creation by allowing the portfolio companies to retain their identities and independence at the same time that they can accelerate with capital, knowledge and other synergies from LeoVegas. This gives LeoVentures a unique capacity to invest, grow, and over time realise the value of venture companies and new strategically important opportunities for the Group.

for further INFORMATION, please contact:

Gustaf Hagman, Group CEO

+46 (0) 8 410 367 66, [email protected]

Philip Doftvik, Director of Investor Relations and Corporate Finance

+46 73 512 07 20, [email protected]

About LeoVegas Mobile Gaming Group:

LeoVegas vision and position is “King of Casino”. The global group LeoVegas Mobile Gaming Group offers games on Casino, Live Casino, Bingo and Sport. The parent company LeoVegas AB (publ.) is located in Sweden and its operations are mainly located in Malta. The company’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Stockholm. www.leovegasgroup.com

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

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SOURCE LeoVegas Mobile Gaming Group