Jiayin Group - Q4 2023

Transcript

Operator (participant)

Good day, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Jiayin Group's Q4 2023 earnings conference call. Currently, all participants are in listen-only mode. Later, we will conduct a question and answer session, and instructions will follow at that time. As a reminder, we are recording today's call. If you have any objections, you may disconnect at this time. I would like to turn the call over to Mr. Shawn Zhang from Investor Relations of Jiayin Group. Please proceed.

Shawn Zhang (Head of Investor Relations)

Thank you, operator. Hello, everyone. Thank you all for joining us on today's conference call to discuss Jiayin Group's financial results for the Q4 and the full year of 2023. We released our earnings results earlier today. The press release is available on the company's website as well as from Newswire Services. On the call with me today are Mr. Yan Dinggui, Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Fan Chunlin, Chief Financial Officer, and Ms. Xu Yifang, Chief Risk Officer. Before we continue, please note that today's discussion will contain forward-looking statements made under the Safe Harbor Provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. As such, the company's actual results may be materially different from the expectations expressed today.

Further information regarding these and other risks and uncertainties is included in the company's public filings with the SEC. The company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law. Also, please note that unless otherwise stated, all figures mentioned during the conference call are in Chinese renminbi. With that, let me now turn the call over to our CEO, Mr. Yan Dinggui. Mr. Yan will deliver his remarks in Chinese, and I will follow up with corresponding English translations. Please go ahead, Mr. Yan.

Yan Dinggui (CEO)

Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining our Q4 and full year 2023 earnings conference call. The year of 2023 was a pivotal year for our company, with the changing macroeconomic landscape amplifying our challenges, but also opening up unique opportunities for growth.

We are thrilled to share that throughout the Q4 and the entire year, we firmly executed our strategic initiatives, achieving remarkable results on both financial and operational fronts. The execution of these strategies will form the core competitive edge for our company's future growth. Reflecting on 2023, the key words for China's macroeconomic theme were steady growth and structural adjustment. On the one hand, the recovery of the economy at the macro level faced extended timelines and increased difficulties due to the ongoing multi-year impact of COVID and escalating geopolitical conflicts worldwide. Maintaining steady growth while strictly controlling potential risks became a critical consideration for policymakers. On the other hand, the importance of developing industries that are both strategic and emerging, as well as stimulating domestic demand, became even more pronounced.

Adjusting the structure of economic development and focusing on transforming and upgrading the engines of growth emerged as primary discussions. Particularly from the Q4 onwards, new quality productive forces started to gain traction as a popular concept.

[Foreign language]

Shawn Zhang (Head of Investor Relations)

In 2023, we kept a close watch on significant changes within the macroeconomic landscape, particularly in the financial and technology sectors. We remain focused on our core competencies of technological innovation and risk management. We did this while striving to enhance our company's market share and improve our precision in operations, thereby successfully meeting our business objectives.

In the Q4, the company's loan facilitation volume was CNY 20.1 billion, an increase of 6.3% year-over-year. Meanwhile, the company's total loan facilitation volume for the full year reached CNY 88.1 billion, an increase of 58.7% compared to 2022, surpassing the previously set target guidelines and achieving a new historical high in volume. In the Q4, the company achieved net revenue of CNY 1.6 billion, an increase of 51.8% year-over-year. Annual net revenue reached CNY 5.47 billion, an increase of 67.1% year-over-year, continuing healthy growth momentum.

Yan Dinggui (CEO)

[Foreign language]

Shawn Zhang (Head of Investor Relations)

The recovery of the macro-economy is closely linked to the support of credit services.

In 2023, the demand for consumer credit services in the Chinese market remained robust. Policies and measures such as the opinions of the General Office of the State Council on further unleashing the potential of consumer spending and promoting the sustained recovery of consumption. The National Development and Reform Commission's effort for restoring and expanding consumption, and National Financial Regulatory Administration's notice on the financial support for recovery and expansion of consumption, and State Council's initiatives to further facilitate the high quality development of inclusive finance, each contributed to the growth of the consumer credit service market. Additionally, new requirements were introduced at the national level to regulate financial institutions and enhance service quality. At the end of 2023, according to data from the People's Bank of China, the balance of various types of RMB loans from financial institutions amounted to CNY 237.59 trillion, an increase of 10.6% year-over-year. Through the year, RMB loans increased by CNY 22.75 trillion, an additional one point 31 trillion RMB compared with the previous year. Against the backdrop of the continuously increasing market demand, we are continuing to focus on optimizing customer structure, pursuing sustainable growth in business scale.

Yan Dinggui (CEO)

[Foreign language]

[Foreign language]

Shawn Zhang (Head of Investor Relations)

2023 was the year of transformation for our company in terms of technological empowerment, especially in the development and application of artificial intelligence technology.

In the Q3, our company officially changed its name to Jiayin Technology, marking a strategic shift with technology to top priority. This move aligns with the trend of applying AI in various business scenarios. AI technology has empowered us in areas like anti-fraud monitoring, marketing, borrower acquisition models, and intelligent quality inspection for customer service. These advancements have boosted our risk control capabilities, improved borrower acquisition efficiency, and enhanced customer satisfaction and compliance. In the Q4 of 2023, we combined large language models and AIGC technology to enhance our innovation and influence through automated high quality image and video content creation. Internally, we are developing intelligent office tools, leveraging open source large language models for better operational efficiency in the middle and back office.

Yan Dinggui (CEO)

[Foreign language]

Shawn Zhang (Head of Investor Relations)

By the end of 2023, we had partnership with 71 financial institutions and were in talks with an additional 36. Our collaboration with this institution covers operation, technology, risk management, and customer rights protection, enhancing our market competitiveness. In the Q4, we welcome one Internet bank, two Tier 1 city commercial banks, and several private banks as partners, diversifying our funding. This led to significant growth in our loan facilitation business throughout the year. We believe our expanding ecosystem of partners will be crucial for our long-term growth.

Yan Dinggui (CEO)

[Foreign language]

Shawn Zhang (Head of Investor Relations)

In the Q4 of 2023, the company continues efforts in managing risk fluctuations and expanding its borrower base. We understand the importance of optimizing customer structure and ensure asset quality amid market changes. The delinquency rate for 61-90 days remained at 0.68%, manageable overall. Going forward, Jiayin will maintain prudent and flexible risk control strategies. For new borrower acquisition, we pursued a stable strategy focusing on existing multi-channel borrower acquisition metrics and achieved success in cost control. This led to an 11.9% reduction in Q4 2023 sales and marketing expense compared to the same period of last year. In borrower operations through refined management, we deeply explored the lifetime value of core assets.

Our repeat borrowing rate reached 72.9%, with average borrowing amount per borrowing of 9,944 RMB.

Yan Dinggui (CEO)

[Foreign language]

Shawn Zhang (Head of Investor Relations)

The company's expansion into overseas market is progressing steadily. In Nigeria, we are mindful of the ongoing fluctuations in local exchange rates and market risks, which may pose challenges to further growth. We will continue to monitor the local business environment closely and make informed decisions accordingly. Meanwhile, in the promising Pan-African market like Tanzania, we are actively exploring expansion opportunities. Indonesia is also a key market of interest. By the end of 2023, Indonesian regulatory authorities have introduced new policies requiring lower rates and a tighter market oversight. We are closely monitoring these developments and plan to support our partner to optimizing their asset structures and targeting high quality borrower segments. Additionally, we are keeping a close eye on Latin American market, including Mexico, for potential business development opportunities.

Yan Dinggui (CEO)

[Foreign language]

Shawn Zhang (Head of Investor Relations)

Throughout the Q4 and full year 2023, consumer rights protection remained a central focus for Jiayin's development. We actively responded to the customer rights protection initiative, defending consumer rights with determination. Leveraging our digital technology advantages, we implemented lean operational strategies internally, and established a robust consumer rights protection system. Externally, we continue to empower our business and tech with technology, building a strong anti-fraud firewall to foster a harmonious and stable consumer environment. In the 2023 Consumer Rights Protection White Paper, released in January, we detailed our achievements and deep industry insights. This included educating 26 million individuals on consumer protection and assisting 9,900 borrowers in need.

The company's outstanding performance was recognized with the Best Financial Consumer Right Protection Award at the Financial Compliance Annual Award Ceremony.

Yan Dinggui (CEO)

[Foreign language]

[Foreign language]

Shawn Zhang (Head of Investor Relations)

Reflecting on 2023, we are pleased to report that we achieved high quality growth, demonstrating the effectiveness of our strategies. Currently, as industry regulation enters into a normalized stage, it is expected that the future industry environment will be more conducive to Jiayin's sustained development. We also made significant strides in technology-enabled business operations and in expanding our overseas footprint. We are convinced that maintaining a focus on technological innovation as a cornerstone of our long-term competitive strategy, along with our commitment to expanding our business scope, optimizing our asset structure, and rigorously managing risk, will ensure our continued and stable growth in both Chinese and international markets.

We are confident in our company's performance in 2024, setting a goal for total loan facilitation to be ranged from CNY 93 billion-CNY 98 billion for the year, with CNY 22 billion targeted for the Q1.

Yan Dinggui (CEO)

[Foreign language]

Shawn Zhang (Head of Investor Relations)

So, I want to talk a bit more about the company's many efforts in terms of shareholder returns. In the past nine months, we distributed two cash dividends to shareholders, totaling $0.8 per ADS. The total dividend amount reached $42.7 million, accounting for 25% of the company's 2022 fiscal year after-tax net profit. In the future, we will continue to execute the company's dividend policy. Under the condition of meeting the dividend conditions, we expect to distribute two dividends in cash each year, with the annual total dividend distribution not less than 15% of the previous year's after-tax net profit. In terms of the share repurchase plan, as of now, the company has repurchased shares with a total value of approximately $10.6 million, and will raise the upper limit of the existing effective share repurchase plan to $30 million. We expect to use this method to reiterate our commitment to creating value for shareholders, as well as our confidence in the company's long-term growth prospects.

Finally, I would like to talk about the company's efforts in boosting shareholders' returns. Over the past nine months, we have distributed two cash dividends to shareholders, totaling $0.8 per ADS. The total dividend amount reached $42.7 million, accounting for 25% of the company's net income after tax for the fiscal year of 2022. Going forward, we will continue to execute the company's dividend policy, which is to distribute dividends twice a year in cash, with an annual total dividend not less than 15% of the previous year's net income after tax, subject to dividend conditions being met.

Regarding our share repurchase program, as of now, the company had repurchased its ADS for approximately $10.6 million and raised our current effective share repurchased program limit to $30 million. We look forward to reaffirming our commitment to creating value for shareholders and our confidence in company's long-term growth prospects through these measures.

Yan Dinggui (CEO)

[Foreign language]

Shawn Zhang (Head of Investor Relations)

With that, I will now turn the call over to our CFO, Mr. Fan Chunlin. Please go ahead.

Fan Chunlin (CFO)

Thank you, Mr. Yan, and hello, everyone, for joining our call today. I will now review our financial highlights for the quarter. Please note that all numbers will be in RMB, and all percentage changes refer to year-over-year comparisons, unless otherwise noted. As Mr. Yan mentioned earlier, we carried our vast growth momentum over the past year to achieve new milestones in the Q4. Notably, our loan facilitation volume grew by 6.3% to RMB 20.1 billion. Our net revenue was about RMB 1.6 billion, up 51.8%. Moving on to costs. Facilitation and servicing expenses were RMB 837.2 million, representing an increase of 329.1% from the same period of 2022, primarily due to increased loan facilitation volume and expenses related to financial guarantee services.

Allowance for uncollectible receivables, counter assets, loans receivable, and others was CNY 43.8 million, representing an increase of 190.1% from the same period of 2022, primarily due to the increased balances arising to our loan facilitation and guarantee services. Sales and marketing expense was CNY 329.5 million, representing a decrease of 11.9% from the same period of 2022, primarily due to lower commission expenses. G&A expenses were CNY 65.2 million, representing an increase of 9.9% from the same period of 2022, primarily driven by an increase in employee costs.

R&D expenses were CNY 92.9 million, representing an increase of 44.3% from the same period of 2022, primarily due to the higher employee compensation as a result of an increase in research and development department headcount. Consequently, our net income for the Q4 was CNY 367.6 million, representing a decrease of 31.1% from CNY 533.7 million in the same period of 2022. Our basic and diluted net income per share was CNY 1.72, compared to CNY 2.49 in the Q4 of 2022. Basic and diluted net income per ADS was CNY 6.88, compared to CNY 9.97 in the Q4 of 2022.

We ended this quarter with CNY 370.2 million in cash and cash equivalents, compared to CNY 180.3 million at the end of the previous quarter. With that, we can open the call for questions. Ms. Xu, our Chief Risk Officer, and I will answer your questions. Operator, please proceed.

Operator (participant)

Thank you. To ask a question, please press star one and one on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. To withdraw your question, please press star one and one again. As a reminder, please press star one and one on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. To withdraw your question, please press star one and one again. Please stand by while we compile the Q&A roster. This will take a few moments. Once again, please press star one and one on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. Thank you. We are now going to proceed with our first question. The questions come from the line of Hua Rong from Jinyu Asset. Please ask your question.

Hua Rong (Analyst)

[Foreign language]

Speaker 7

Hello, management, I'm Hua Rong from Jinyu Asset.

I have two questions. The first one is, we have observed that the delinquency rates for periods of 1-30 days, 31-60 days, 61-90 days, 91-190 days, and over 180 days, are all higher than the level during the same period in 2022. Could you please share what measures the company intends to take in the future to keep delinquency rates low? My second question is, I also have a question about the shareholder return. In 2023, the company initiated dividend distribution. What can we expect for the future dividend policy and payout ratio? Thank you.

Xu Yifang (Chief Risk Officer)

[Foreign language]

Fan Chunlin (CFO)

Hello, Ms. Hua. Thank you so much for focusing our delinquency rate as our investor. So just a call back from what Mr. Yan just said, in 2023, the overall domestic economic environment still face multiple challenges and uncertainties. And one very certain thing is that the economic recovery speed is still very slow.

Xu Yifang (Chief Risk Officer)

[Foreign language]

Fan Chunlin (CFO)

If you follow our updates in the past several quarters, you will see that since the Q2 of 2023, we have already adjusted and faced the challenges to risk management given by economic cycles and under this perception.

Xu Yifang (Chief Risk Officer)

[Foreign language]

Shawn Zhang (Head of Investor Relations)

Also, under a prudent risk decision-making mechanism, we have strengthened our research on this sensitivity of our borrower group to external environmental impacts, accelerated the adjustment and adaptation of internal strategies, and manage risk indicators throughout the whole life cycle of our borrowers.

Xu Yifang (Chief Risk Officer)

[Foreign language]

Shawn Zhang (Head of Investor Relations)

One thing I want to point out that, in the post-facilitation stage, we have enhanced the intelligence and experience of repayment, reminder, and collection through technology and models, strengthen the application of mediation and legal collection at different stages, and improve the optimization of risk indicators at each stage, and all under the premise of enhancing borrower operation experience and protecting consumer rights. And those are our measures to the risk control measures under the economic cycle.

Xu Yifang (Chief Risk Officer)

[Foreign language]

Shawn Zhang (Head of Investor Relations)

Okay, sure. Those are my answers to your first question, and I will give it to our CFO, Mr. Fan Chunlin, for your second question.

Fan Chunlin (CFO)

[Foreign language]

Shawn Zhang (Head of Investor Relations)

Thank you, Miss Huang. Yeah, it's true that the rewards to our shareholders are very interesting. As just as Mr. Yan just said, based on our company's rapid development and robust management over the past few years, both operational and financial indicators have shown a continuous improvement trend. So our company's operating cash flow is relatively abundant, and the metrics on the balance sheet are increasingly solid. Therefore, the company has been and will continue to reward our shareholders through share repurchase plans and dividend policies.

Fan Chunlin (CFO)

[Foreign language]

Shawn Zhang (Head of Investor Relations)

As it has been already two years since we just started our share repurchase plans, but the current stock trading price is around just two, the PE ratio is around just two. Considering our company's fundamentals and strong profitability, our management believe that the stock price does not fully reflect the company's internal value, which means we are undervalued. So our board of directors just approved an additional $20 million share repurchase plan recently, raising the repurchase limit to $30 million.

Fan Chunlin (CFO)

[Foreign language]

Shawn Zhang (Head of Investor Relations)

Okay. Over the past year, we have implemented two dividends, totaling $0.8 per ADS. If you calculate it based on our closing price yesterday, which is $6.9 per ADS, the dividend yield exceeds 11.5%. So in the future, we will continue to our established dividend policy and rewarding our shareholders through regular dividends. 好，谢谢 Paolo。 Okay, thank you, Paolo.

Operator (participant)

Thank you. We are now going to proceed with our next question. The question comes from the line of Chen Yixuan from Huatai Securities. Please ask your question. Your line is open.

Speaker 6

Uh, good evening, everyone. Thank you for providing me this opportunity. I am Chen Yixuan from Huatai Securities. I have two questions I want to ask. So, the first question is, considering the uncertainty in the current macroeconomic environment, what positive and effective adjustments and improvements have you made in customer acquisition channels and risk control and other aspects? Based on these adjustments and improvements, does the company have a detailed plan for future development? So, the second question is, we observed that the company's net profit decrease in the Q4 of 2023 was relatively large, and accounts receivable increased relatively much year-over-year. Please ask, what factors is this mainly affected by, and the company's outlook for net profit this year? Uh, let me do the translation. The first question is, considering the uncertainty in the current macroeconomic environment, uh, could you please share what the positive and effective adjustments and improvements you have made in the customer acquisition channels and risk control?

Also, does the company have a detailed plan for future development based on these adjustments and improvements? And the second question is, we have noticed a significant decrease in the company's net income in the Q4 in 2023, and also a notable year-over-year increase in the accounts receivable. What are the primary factors and what's the company's projection for the net income this year?

Xu Yifang (Chief Risk Officer)

[Foreign language]

[Foreign language]

Shawn Zhang (Head of Investor Relations)

I will take your first question. So, firstly, I would like to remind that in the past few years, the online credit industry has gone through a period of consolidation, followed by a slowdown in the economic recovery of the external environment. During this period, we fully leverage its long accumulated data and users advantages with the rapid development of facilitation volume, the risk control indicators has also been satisfactory.

Xu Yifang (Chief Risk Officer)

[Foreign language]

Shawn Zhang (Head of Investor Relations)

So today, as we consider the development of our business, we will place more emphasis on a sustainable long-term development goal, continuously empowering our financial partners in both China and international markets with our technological capabilities. So we will prudently consider the healthy growth of the platforms, facilitation volume under the premise of controllable risk.

Xu Yifang (Chief Risk Officer)

[Foreign language]

[Foreign language]

Shawn Zhang (Head of Investor Relations)

So in detail, firstly, in terms of borrower acquisition channels, we will focus on balancing the channel mix metrics, prioritizing the development of channels that mainly acquire high-quality assets. Secondly, from the service and operational strategy perspective, we will enhance the management and retention of high-quality borrowers, increasing the mining and application of borrower behavior data, thereby promoting the elevation of borrower quality and asset portfolios towards high-quality borrower groups. Thirdly, in terms of risk strategy, we will continue to focus on the introduction and testing of market data products, systematically assess and monitor the impact of external environment risks on different borrower groups, and strengthen the iteration and optimization of our models. Strategically, we will conduct differentiated management by different borrower group, implementing differentiated approval rates, differentiated pricing, and differentiated credit limit management. Lastly, in the post-facilitation aspect, as previously mentioned, the introduction of various strategies and methods aim to enhance the optimization of risk indicator at each stage, so all under the premise of strengthening borrower operation experience and protecting consumer rights.

Xu Yifang (Chief Risk Officer)

[Foreign language]

Shawn Zhang (Head of Investor Relations)

So those are my some ideas about your first question, and as the same, the second question will give to Mr. Fan Chunlin.

Fan Chunlin (CFO)

[Foreign language]

Shawn Zhang (Head of Investor Relations)

Okay, thank you, Yushan, for your question. So for the Q4 of 2023, the net income was CNY 368 million, which is a slight increase compared to CNY 324 million in the Q3 of 2023. However, there was a 31% decrease, if you compare to the CNY 534 million in the Q4 of 2022. I think there are some main reasons. So firstly, the net margin in the Q4 of 2022 was exceptionally high, which is about 51%. I think we have mentioned in the calls before that the primary reason was that several of our core operating entities officially obtained the high-tech enterprise qualification in the Q4 of 2022, which adjusted the applicable income tax rate to 15%, and it is retroactive to 2021. Therefore, we made a one-time financial adjustment for this tax benefit in the Q4 of 2022. If you exclude this one-time adjustment and other non-recurring items, the net profit, the net income for the Q4 of 2022 would be much lower.

Fan Chunlin (CFO)

[Foreign language]

Shawn Zhang (Head of Investor Relations)

So in the detailed classification of our revenue of Q4 of 2023, the proportion of guarantee income was higher than in the Q4 of 2022. And the profit margin of this kind of business is lower than our facilitation and risk control services. So in the future, I think, our listed company will continue to focus on the facilitation and risk control services. And we will also reasonably control the balance of different business segments in our revenue proportion. So regarding the income statement figures, we are not gonna provide any guidance today. But we have already given a range for our facilitation volume this year, which is CNY 93 billion-CNY 98 billion.

If you look at our net margin in certain quarters in the past has fluctuated due to some non-recurring items. Annually, our net margins for the past three years, which is 2021 to 2023, were 26.3%, 36.1%, and 23.7% respectively. Also in the future, we will continue to operate steadily, maintain a stable take rate, increase investment in R&D, and improve operational efficiency to keep the overall margin at a very healthy level. Yes, if you compare with the accounts receivable in Q4 2023 to Q4 2022, there is a difference, just as what you said.

But if you compare the balance at the end of the Q4, compare with the end of the Q3, the balance was roughly flat and a little bit increased. So our company's balance sheet will continue to improve.

Yan Dinggui (CEO)

Oh, thank you, gentlemen.

Shawn Zhang (Head of Investor Relations)

All right. Thank you, Yixuan, for your question.

Operator (participant)

Thank you. Seeing no more questions now, I would like to return the call to Shawn for closing remarks. Please go ahead.

Shawn Zhang (Head of Investor Relations)

Okay. Thank you, operator, and thank you all for participating on today's call, and thank you for your support. We appreciate your interest and look forward to reporting to you again next quarter on our progress.

Operator (participant)

Thank you all again. This concludes the call. You may now disconnect. Thank you.