JS Global Lifestyle Company Limited

Good morning, dear investors and analysts, and welcome to the JS Global Lifestyle 2025 Interim Results Conference. Before we begin, please allow me to introduce the management team presented today. They are Ms. Han Run, CFO and Executive Director of JS Global Lifestyle. CEO and Senior Vice President of Finance of JS Global Lifestyle, Mr. Liu Ningqing. And without further ado, let's first welcome Ms. Han Ren, CFO and Executive Director, to deliver her opening remarks. Dear investors, good morning. Welcome to the Jazz Global Lifestyle 2025 Interim Results Conference. Thank you for your support and participation. First, let me provide an overview of the company's overall operating performance in the first half of the year. The first half of the year, the company achieved revenue of $774 million, up 4.2% a year. Gross profit, $249 million, up 1.1% a year. Net profit loss of 54 million USD and adjusted EBITDA decreased by 25.9% year-on-year to 23 million USD. To expand in the APEC market, the company moderately increased marketing investment. This included strengthening brand image and consumer insights, promoting core products and new products, enhancing omni-channel distribution capabilities, and increasing sales team deployment. Although the APAC market achieved a strong performance of 86.9% in revenue, in H1, its contribution to the group's overall profit remained relatively small due to its early stage of development. Competition in the domestic market where Zhou Yang operates remained fierce, and revenue and profit continued to be under pressure. But there were signs of gradual recovery. By market, Japan continues to maintain positive momentum. For example, the launch of upgraded cordless blenders and the first silent blender in Japan has helped the Ninja brand maintain its leading position in the food preparation category in Japan. Australia and New Zealand, as the APEC division's largest market, saw strong performance in the first half of the year, with revenue doubling, primarily driven by new products such as cordless vacuum cleaners, slushy, and air fryers. We anticipate a strong growth in our ice beverage line in Australia and New Zealand as the summer arrives in the Southern Hemisphere. We are also actively expanding into the other APAC countries and regions, accelerating our presence and development in emerging markets. And my colleague, Leon. will provide a detailed original and a category breakdown and analysis later. With the group's resolute implementation of the three core development strategies for APAC, we are confident that the SN will maintain its momentum in the APAC market. Currently, the Jiayang segment focused on the domestic market is also experiencing positive development, driven by policies such as the trading program and the government subsidies. Demand for some mid- to high-end products is increasing. In response, Zhou Yang also promptly launched new products in its space series during the first half of the year, including the fully automatic soy milk maker K6, the inverter blender B1U, the non-stick titanium rice cooker 4O and 1U Pro, and the heating water purifier R11. These products leverage core selling points such as high quality, attractive appearance, excellent value for money, and their health and wellness, while enhancing consumers' quality of life. They also better address their emotional needs. Although that we have seen more ferocious competition in small home appliances in China, we have a new development with expansion of emerging channels and the new product development coordinating the development of offline stores, shelf e-commerce and concept e-commerce. This is a new opportunity in China. Segmentation is driven by O2O integration and focusing on improving refinement operational capabilities. We strive to achieve steady growth in operating profits and committed to achieving comprehensive quality and efficient improvement. And next, we will invite Leon to make an introduction of their financial and performance in business. Okay, thank you, Madam Han. Next, I'll upgrade you with the 2025 first half of business and financial performance. In the first half of the year, JS total revenue reached $774 million, up 4.2% a year. Gross profit, $249 million, up 1.1% a year. The gross profit margin was 32.1%, down 1 percentage point from 33.1% in the same period last year. Net profit turned inactive at 53.7 million USD. This was due to the limited profit contribution from APAC, which remains in its investment stage. As disclosed in the previous profit warning announcement, it was also affected by the decrease in related product transaction revenue during the transition period and the continued impact of the RSUs granted in 2023. Excluding related-party transactions, the group's third-party revenue in the first half of the year was 720 million USD, up 18% a year. Corresponding gross profit was 242 million USD, down 12.5% a year, with a gross profit margin of 33.5%, down 1.7 percentage points. from 35.2% in the same period last year. Adjusted net profit for the reporting period was 13.5 million USD, down 26.6% a year. By segment, Zhou Yang maintained relatively stable performance in the first half, with sales growth in categories such as soy milk makers and boilers, partially offset by weaker performance in other cooking appliances like rice cookers. As an APAC, it continued its strong momentum with revenue from third-party customers reaching 230 million USD compared with 123 million USD in the same period last year, up 87% year-on-year. This growth was driven by the launch of innovative products, expansion into new categories, and a further penetration into new APAC markets. By region, Australia and New Zealand had a 113% year-on-year growth in revenue to 96 million USD, driven mainly by strong performance in three categories, cordless vacuum cleaners, kitchen appliances, including ice cream maker, air fryer, and blenders, as well as hair care products. Product innovation and differentiation were key growth drivers for this market. Japan Revenue reached 66 million USD up 50% year-on-year, supported by steady performance in cordless vacuum cleaners and product upgrades. Essence also quickly captured a leading market share in food preparation appliances following the launch of the Ninja Blast portable blender earlier last year. South Korea, revenue increased 93% year-on-year to 58 million USD, mainly due to the successful launch of new products across nearly all categories, including the portable blast blender, as well as continued share gains in air fryers. So we have made a lot of growth in the kitchen home appliances. And in China, revenue reached 484 million U.S.C., a young year increase of 1.3%. The market remained relatively stable, constrained by intense competition in the domestic small appliance sector, which limited growth in categories such as rice cookers. The gross profit margin for third-party revenue in the first half of 2025, as I had mentioned, was 33.5%, down 1.7 percentage points year-on-year. This decline was primarily due to Zhou Yang's efforts to adapt to market conditions, accelerate sales, and enhance operating efficiency. We have made some adjustments accordingly. And as an APAC division, we quoted a slight margin contraction driven by higher freight costs and strategic discounting in core markets. So let's take a look at the turnover days of operation. In the first half, the group's average inventory turnover was 53 days, accounts receivable and the bills turnover was 91 days, and accounts payable and the bills turnover was 179 days, broadly unchanged year-on-year. We will continue to prioritize optimizing operating cash flow. Capital expenditure in the first half of the year was consistent with the same period last year. As of the end of June, total bank borrowing stood at approximately $48.8 million, consisting of a one-year RMB working capital loan. The U.S. dollar revolving loan outstanding at the end of last year was fully repaid in the first half of this year. And next, let's take a look at the business performance upgrade. In the first half, in response to the stratification of domestic consumption and the shifting consumer demand supported by national subsidies, Zhou Yang stressed its K-shaped product portfolio to serve diverse customer segments. On the distribution front, Zhou Yang expanded its reach by tailoring products to different channels and consumer profiles, improving channel adaptability. During the period, Zhou Yang's content e-commerce platform's emerging channels, offline distribution, and special sales channels focused mainly on exclusive new products. Let's take a look at the APAC market. Competition in Japan intensified, particularly in the cordless vacuum cleaner segment. Nevertheless, the Shark brand retained its leadership, with market share edging up to 24%. The Ninja brand's share of the food preparation category reached 19% in the first half of 2025 and climbing to 26% in June, driven largely by the strong performance of its new portable blender, the Blast Max. Australia and New Zealand continue to demonstrate very strong resilience and high growth, and our market share in the food preparation category is expected to exceed 20%, driven primarily by the launch of differentiated and innovative products such as the Ninja Slushie. featuring exclusive rapid-chill technology that redefines the iced beverage experience and the Ninja Double Basket Air Fryer, which enhances the efficiency of preparing multiple dishes. Both products have gained strong traction in Australia and New Zealand. With summer approaching, we expect slushy and creamy to drive even stronger growth momentum. Our market share in the cordless vacuum cleaner category increased to 20%. However, given intensified competition and the frequent promotional activities in the retail market, sustaining high growth may face challenges and some uncertainties. In the hair care category, Our market share rose to 13%, primarily driven by Shark's FlexStyle product. Consumers responded positively to its dual styling and drawing functions. But the category has become increasingly saturated and the competition is intensifying. Looking into the second half of the year, we expect competitive and pricing pressure to rise further. Now let's take a look at the South Korean market. And we have seen the Korean business, especially in the food preparation, the market share climbed quickly to 19%, and in the last two months, exceeded 20%, securing our leadership position in this category. Growth was supported by a diversified portfolio, including the newly launched Ninja Blast Max and Ninja Detect, a high-performance blender. We also introduced the silent IQ blender in the first half, further strengthening our leadership. In cordless vacuum cleaners, market share also rose significantly to 12% in the first half, driven mainly by the launch of lightweight models with one-touch dust collection and cordless vacuums. So we also have the smart sense IQ technologies built in. which widened our advantage over our competitors. While we are continuously promoting the differentiated new product, we are also expanding the market reach. Since 2025, we entered Thailand and Indonesia, achieving strong results. And we also plan to soon expand into Taiwan and then access more Southeast Asian markets later. Based on the small appliance categories already covered by Shark and Ninja, The potential market size in APAC, excluding mainland China, is estimated at 8 to 10 billion USD, a market of enormous potential. We remain focused on our three core strategies. The first, launching innovative products. Second, expanding into new categories. And the third, entering new markets. Executing these three key strategies will enable us to deliver even stronger performance. At the same time, we remain mindful of the risks following our rapid growth over the past two years. Competitors are increasingly defending their business territories. leading to more aggressive price competition. Our management team remains vigilant, seeking breakthroughs and opportunities in this challenging environment to drive the healthy development of S&APAC. So this concludes my financial and business update. Thank you. Dear investors, this concludes our earnings presentation part, and now we will open the floor for Q&A session. If you would like to ask a question, you may type in the Zoom chat, and I will read it out for management to respond. Alternatively, you may raise your hand on Zoom to ask your question live. For those raising their hands, please state your institution and name. Thank you. Okay, let me read the first question. Could management provide a breakdown of the revenue structure and the key contributing product categories across major APEC markets? Given the vast size of the region, what are the company's plans for markets it has not yet entered, especially does SM still hold a competitive edge in lower-tier markets? Okay, for this question... I'd like to give you a response. So first, let's take a look at the S&APAC region. So in terms of the channels, Japan and Australia and New Zealand, we have 20% of the business from online and 80% from offline. And for South Korea, 50% is from online, 30% from offline, and 20% comes from the television sales. Now, about the APAC general situation, let's first talk about Australia and New Zealand. This market continues to grow, and the brand awareness has rapidly grown over the past two years, enabling our continued scale. and the food preparation category is expected had taken 20% of the market share, was differentiated a new product, providing strong support, and the cordless vacuum cleaner category has already reached over 20%, and the hair care and the styling category has been closer to 15% of the market share. Now, in terms of the contribution, the latest generation cordless vacuum cleaner, power detect, smart cleaning systems, and the Ninja Slashy. I believe that if you have used the social platforms, you know that it's a very popular product with a lot of comments and discussions, and also the double stack product. Dual Basket Air Fryer So you are able to cook four dishes simultaneously. So with it, we are able to very efficiently cook a dinner. and the Shock Flex Style is a hero product for the hair care category. As for our anticipations for future growth, we know that throughout the whole year, Australia and New Zealand both have a high demand for the iced beverage, but we believe that as the South Hemisphere enters into the summertime, the demand would be even higher. So slushy and creamy will be attending this kind of demand. And also we have seen some stress in the second half of the year. The first is that we have seen more saturated demand in different categories. We know that our largest hair care competitor and cordless vacuum competitor It is also making more efforts and they have carried out a lot of campaigns for promotion. So that has added stress to our price as well as the competition as a whole. So there have been some pressure for cost of control. We also need to actively respond to those campaigns. And then let's talk about the capacity of the hero products. We had been impacted by the trade war, so some of the capacity was originally in the U.S. and we wanted to migrate some of the capacities out of China. So there have been some uncertainties of the trade war and this has been a test for our supply chain capabilities and we also hope that in the second half of this year we can better address the capacity issue. And let's also talk about Japan. What is the growth factors? Shock. The cordless vacuum cleaner had increased its market share to 24%, as I had mentioned in my update. And there was Blastomax and the silent blender stills. IQ. These two products had a strong performance, and in June, the food process category of Ninja in Japan had increased its market share to 26%. So about Blaston Max, there is a very interesting anecdote why it had a sudden breakthrough of its sales. So you may know the famous actress of Japan, Shizuka Kudo. And she has participated in a television interview program reviewing different new products on the market. And in the latest episode, she also reviewed Blast Maxx. So it was a coincidence that we had expressed our products on television, made a higher impression and exposure, and after the episode was live, we have seen a breakthrough of the sales of this product. If you're interested, you can take a look at this video on YouTube. And for the second half of the year in Japan, what is our anticipation? We plan to launch two important products, and... They are Power Clean 360 and Evil Power. The third generation lightweight cordless vacuum cleaner. And for Ninja, We have a greater support of sales IQ, and we can increase the scale of sales. And in the second half of the year, what is the stress? So we know that our biggest competitor has been continuously lowering the price in multiple regions, and this has been a stress for us. and the second thing is that we have been very prudent in promoting the new products so for both Ninja and Shark the pace is not that quick and in Japan we are also very prudent we must carry out the stringent tests and verified by the consumers. It's an interest product mainly focused on the European and American customers, so we spend a lot of time for localization. So we would adjust the size, noise, etc., And in South Korea, the food processing category, including the air fryers and the blenders, our market share has been increased to 18.5%, and for cordless vacuum cleaners, our market share also grew to 14%. And about the contributing categories, the first is the SmartSense IQ, and the One key cleaning technology built in cordless vacuum cleaner. And we had been reducing the gap in terms of the market share with our top three competitors. So for food processing category, we have been taking the number one position and mainly contributed by the blenders and the variable frequency food processor. And our anticipation for growth in the second half, we will continue to increase the market share of the silent series of food preparation category. And also we believe that the cordless vacuum cleaner will have a bigger demand. So for the other regions, the e-commerce business of Singapore had been growing rapidly. Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, and some other South Asian markets, which are newly accessed by us and also stayed in the early investment stage. We will continuously enhance our marketing and branding. And we have newly accessed the China-Taiwan region. So we will also get prepared for accessing the Indian market. And we should never neglect the Indian market because it's of huge size. So what are the pressures we have faced? So I already touched upon this. First is the stress from our competitors. And the second is that we know that in Southeast Asian markets, the threshold of entry to market is relatively low. And we have a very polarized consumption powers from the consumer side. and so we would position ourselves at the medium to the premium level target on those corresponding consumers and also assist our distributors to improve their capabilities because we have seen a gap and the differences of their capabilities across the market and we will try to enhance our brand awareness and to assist our dealers to have a better performance in different countries in Southeast Asia. The second question, how does the group assess the growth prospects of the domestic market? Zhou Yang's segment remained on a downward trend in the first half of the year. Do you see potential for a turnaround? What initiatives or product strategies will drive a return to growth? Okay, for this question about Zhou Yang, In the first half, the internal sales business had a slightly negative number, but we have seen an ease of the downward trend, and we may see a sign of a turning point, and the internal sales business was almost a flat year-on-year, and it's better than the industry average. However, there is a bigger drop of the external sales. The main reason is because of the shrinking of the related party transaction, and it's also impacted by the China and the U.S. trade war and the tariff. So to be more specific, we have seen accelerated growth of the DTC in the Alibaba platform, and we have increased the proportion of the medium to the high. premium product, and we have optimized the structures so that the profitability of Alibaba platform have increased, and Douyin had maintained a high-quality, high-speed growth, and JD as a differentiated platform had maintained a steady growth, and the PDD and WeChat sales have been dropped. It's mainly because the PDD now is lacking the government subsidy. Therefore, the traffic has been down. So what is our countermeasure? The first is to control the cost and facing the price competition, we will also enhance the control of the channels and expand the distribution and emerging channels. We will centralize the resources to go deep into our core products and optimize our operation efficiencies and to focus on the return of the profitability level. In the second half of the year, we expected that the revenue would be stabilized and we will have a higher efficient management and we will reduce the inefficient SKUs, improve the conversion rate and increase the profit further. Export related transactions. As I have mentioned, it has been facing the pressure of the geopolitical issues and there have been a switch from the old to new products. So there will still be some price in the second half of the year. And due to the interest of time, let's take the final question. The APAC market is performing well, yet the company's financial statement shows only mediocre profitability. What are the key factors behind this? How can a profit product with significant scale and market share fail to generate strong profits? Does this imply that reducing expenses could risk not only profitability but also revenue growth? Could you share your outlook for potential growth as will a company consider launching a large-scale employee incentive program in the future? So I believe that this is a question of great concern for all of you. And at the group level, the... Different segments, including the S&APAC, did not have a guidance for the performance. So at the company level, we will maintain a sustainable and healthy growth to promote an expansion of the market. And for APAC market, we are still in the investment phase because since the spinoff, it's only about over two years. and we did not have any specific profit target. At the current stage, from the perspective of priorities, revenue scale is more prioritized than the profit performance and we strive to gradually improve profitability over the next five years and the company currently has no predictable profit margin guidance. Thank you for understanding that. And also, as an APAC is still in the early investment stage, therefore the expenditure is relatively high, and the expenditure has resulted in the larger scale and the bigger sales. And another reason is the fair value loss of RSU and associated increased administrative expenses. So 2025 is the third and the last year of RSU plan. The company will consider whether to initiate a new round of RSUs based on the market conditions and operational needs, but no plans are currently in place. Thank you. Thank you, management, for your answers, and thank you all for your active participation. Dear investors, this concludes the JS Global Lifestyle 2025 interim results presentations. Should you have any further questions, please feel free to reach out to our investor relations team. Thank you. Wishing you success in your work and good health.