Niu continues expansion, adds VW cooperation
The Chinese electric scooter manufacturer Niu continues to grow, as is evident from last year’s figures. Niu plans to expand further and recently signed a cooperation agreement with Volkswagen.
The share price is also responding positively to the performance of the Chinese manufacturer. The share price has risen by almost 17% since the middle of last week and even before the announcement of last year’s results.
In terms of detailed figures, Niu sold 93,611 electric scooters worldwide in the fourth quarter of 2018, 77.9% more than in the prior fiscal period. This is not least due to the fact that the manufacturer is constantly expanding its product range. Just last November the most recent innovations were shown at the EICMA. In addition, 118 new franchise stores were opened in China. Niu now has a total of 760 franchise stores in 178 Chinese cities. The international sales network now also comprises 27 countries.
Looking at the year as a whole, net sales amounted to RMB 1,477.8 million (around 193.913 million euros). This is an increase of 92.1 % compared to 2017 – mainly due to the 79.2 % increase in sales of electric scooters. Although the Chinese market alone accounts for 89.3 % of sales, Niu was also able to grow overseas. While the share of international sales in 2017 stood at only 5.3 %, it rose to 10.7 % in 2018. The gross margin last year was 13.4 %, an increase of 7.1 % compared to the same period last year. Non-GAAP adjusted net loss was 48.7 million RMB (approximately 6.390 million euros) compared to adjusted net loss of 79.1 million RMB (approximately 10.379 million euros) in 2017.
In their annual report, Niu also mentions that they recently signed a cooperation agreement with Volkswagen for the development of micro-mobility solutions. Exact details are not yet available. The Streetmate and Cityskater micro-mobility concepts presented at the Geneva Motor Show could give an initial outlook on what a cooperation in this direction might look like.
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