So-Young International - Earnings Call - Q3 2025
November 17, 2025
Transcript
Operator (participant)
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by for So-Young third quarter 2025 earnings conference call. At this time, all participants are in listen-only mode. After management gives their prepared remarks, there will be a question-and-answer session. As a reminder, today's conference call is being recorded. I will now like to turn the meeting over to your host for today's call, Ms. Mona Qiao. Please proceed, Mona.
Mona Qiao (Company Representative)
Thank you, Operator, and thank you, everyone, for joining So-Young's third quarter 2025 earnings conference call. Joining me today on the call is Mr. Xing Jin, our Founder, Chairman, and CEO, and Mr. Nick Chiao, CFO. Before we begin, please refer to the safe harbor statement in our earnings release, which applies to this call and we will be making forward-looking statements. Please also note that we will discuss non-GAAP measures today, which are more thoroughly explained and reconciled to the most comparable measures reported under GAAP in our earnings release on our Investor Relations website and filings with SEC. At this time, I'd like to turn the call over to Mr. Xing Jin.
Xing Jin (Founder, Chairman and CEO)
[Foreign Language]
Mona Qiao (Company Representative)
Hello everyone and welcome to today's earnings call. In Q3, we continued to advance the strategic build-out of our budget center business while deepening the foundation of various development and operating systems. Our long-term investments in the aesthetic center business are increasingly translating into stable operating results. Total revenue for the quarter was RMB 387 million, including RMB 184 million from the aesthetic center business, up 305% year-over-year and approximately 8% above the high end of our guidance. This performance also fueled our year-over-year top-line growth momentum. This quarter, net loss attributable to So-Young increased, mainly due to a sequential decrease of RMB 31 million in revenue from business other than the aesthetic center business. We remain confident that these revenues will stabilize in Q4.
Xing Jin (Founder, Chairman and CEO)
[Foreign Language]
Mona Qiao (Company Representative)
Since launching So-Young Clinic Lite Medical Aesthetic chain last year, we have continuously enhanced its standardization and digital management while improving center-level efficiency and service quality. After one year, our brand now operates the largest number of centers nationwide among Lite Medical Aesthetic chains, with a total number of 42 centers as of today, including 41 directly operated centers and one franchised center. We remain on track to reach our year-end target, 50 centers. As of September 30th, cumulative service visits exceed 600,000, ranking first among mass-market chain brands in China in terms of service volume. Going forward, we will continue to expand our aesthetic center network in a disciplined manner and drive healthy, sustainable growth through a higher standard system and deeper brand equity.
Xing Jin (Founder, Chairman and CEO)
[Foreign Language]
Mona Qiao (Company Representative)
Now let me walk you through our Q3 operational highlights. Our budget aesthetic center business builds upon the strong growth momentum. In Q3, revenue reached RMB 184 million, up 26% quarter-to-quarter and 305% year-over-year, further solidifying its role as the core of our business. As of September 30th, So-Young Clinic operates 39 centers across 10 cities. Operational efficiency continued to improve, with 20 centers achieving center-level profitability in Q3, including all 14 mature centers. In addition, 29 centers generated positive operating cash flow during the quarter. The scale of users and service volume are also expanding. As of September 30th, total number of active users of So-Young Clinic exceeded 130,000. Total number of verified treatment visits surpassed 89,800 in the quarter, up 33% quarter-to-quarter and 280% year-over-year, with total number of verified aesthetic treatments performed surpassed 194,700, up 26% quarter-to-quarter and 296% year-over-year.
New customers continue to grow driven by word-of-mouth referrals, as our customer acquisition efficiency remains industry-leading levels. Our per capita CAC remains at a low level and decreased quarter-to-quarter. In Q3, the proportion of new customers acquired via referrals rose to 46%. We also deepened cooperation with platforms such as Meituan, further improving broad exposure and user conversion through targeted advertising and content seeding. New customers from public domain channels increased 38% quarter-to-quarter, with continued optimization in public domain customer acquisition costs.
Xing Jin (Founder, Chairman and CEO)
[Foreign Language]
Mona Qiao (Company Representative)
We have upgraded our membership system during the quarter. Through tiered operations, benefits, incentives, and personalized services, we increased user retention and customer lifetime value. In Q3, core members defined as users at level 3 and above grew by over 10,000, up 40% quarter-to-quarter. These core members continued a high double-digit % of revenue and nearly 70% quarterly repeat patrons rate. Customer satisfaction score remained at a high level of 4.99 out of 5. Our user structure continues to evolve to higher loyalty and repeat patrons.
Xing Jin (Founder, Chairman and CEO)
[Foreign Language]
Mona Qiao (Company Representative)
We continue to refine our master product, focusing on premium products with repeat patron rates and word-of-mouth. In Q3, we optimized our master product portfolio and doubled down on refined operations for key offerings. By the end of September, we pre-announced the launch of Miracle PLLA 3.0, which delivered robust pre-sale performance with over 1,300 orders completed within two days under a one-order per customer limit. For energy-based device treatments, as the exclusive distributor of BBL treatments in China, we made BBL our highest penetration blockbuster offering in Q3, and we will continue to drive its growth in Q4. Overall, revenue contributions from blockbuster products rose to over 30%, and these core offerings continue to unlock growth momentum. We are opening greater room for synergies with supply chain.
Xing Jin (Founder, Chairman and CEO)
[Foreign Language]
Mona Qiao (Company Representative)
As our business expands, we continue to prioritize healthcare quality and procedural compliance. In Q3, we fully upgraded our quality control framework, building a six-tier compliance framework, including compliance, risk control, supervision, internal audit, medical service delivery, and information security departments. This reinforces traceability across the medical service process. In Q3, we completed 55 center inspections and emergency drills. By the end of this quarter, our physician team exceeded 150, ranking first by count among Lite Medical Aesthetic Chain brands nationwide. All doctors have completed internships or training at public hospitals and passed our unified training and assessments, ensuring a consistent and reliable medical service experience across every center.
Xing Jin (Founder, Chairman and CEO)
[Foreign Language]
Mona Qiao (Company Representative)
Our business practices received recognition from mainstream media. In October, People's Daily Online published a special commentary, noting that So-Young is setting an example for the rational development of the industry through disciplined operations, transparent pricing, and compliance management. We believe the industry landscape is shifting from marketing-driven to trust-driven. We will continue to uphold transparency, standardization, and inclusive access to build a service system that truly puts customers at ease.
Xing Jin (Founder, Chairman and CEO)
[Foreign Language]
Mona Qiao (Company Representative)
We continue to strengthen our medical aesthetic supply chain. In Q3, shipments of Elastic exceeded 59,800 units, up about 53% quarter-to-quarter.
Xing Jin (Founder, Chairman and CEO)
[Foreign Language]
Mona Qiao (Company Representative)
Due to the combined impact of seasonal factors and industry prosperity, in Q3, revenue of POP declined by RMB 80 million quarter-to-quarter. GMV for verified medical aesthetic services was around RMB 260 million, with per capita incentive GTV up 6% year-over-year. We continue to optimize the content recommendation and traffic distribution mechanisms to improve conversion efficiency.
Xing Jin (Founder, Chairman and CEO)
[Foreign Language]
Mona Qiao (Company Representative)
Looking ahead, we will continue pursuing our long-term goal of 1,000 centers, expanding build-out in core cities and commercial hubs, while further elevating standardized and digital management to reach the bar for service delivery and user experience. We believe our durable competitive advantage comes from long-term commitment and accumulated trust. We will drive the Lite Medical Aesthetic industry towards maturity with more measured pace and more professional capabilities, creating long-term value for shareholders.
Xing Jin (Founder, Chairman and CEO)
[Foreign Language]
Mona Qiao (Company Representative)
Now I'll hand over to our CFO Nick, who will walk through the financial results, followed by the Q&A session.
Nick Zhao (CFO)
Hello, this is Nick. Please note that all amounts are quoted in RMB. Please also refer to our earnings release for detailed information of our comparative financial performances on a year-over-year basis. Total revenues during the quarter were RMB 386.7 million, up 4% year-over-year, primarily due to our business expansion of the branded aesthetic center. Aesthetic treatment services revenues reached RMB 183.6 million, showing 304.6% year-over-year, once again exceeding the high end of our guidance. This was primarily driven by the robust business expansion of our branded aesthetic centers. Information and reservation services revenues were RMB 117.2 million, down 34.5% year-over-year, primarily due to a decrease in the number of medical service providers subscribing to information services on our platform. Revenues from sales of medical products and maintenance services were RMB 67 million, down 25% year-over-year, primarily due to a decrease in the order volume of medical equipment.
Revenues from other services were RMB 18.9 million, down 67.6% year-over-year, primarily due to a decrease in revenues from So-Young Prime. Cost of revenues were RMB 203.8 million, up 43.4% year-over-year, primarily due to the business expansion of our branded aesthetic centers. Within cost of revenues, cost of aesthetic treatment services were RMB 140.1 million, up 333.2% year-over-year, primarily due to the business expansion of our branded aesthetic centers. Cost of information and reservation services were RMB 12.9 million, down 44.7% year-over-year, which was in line with the decrease in revenue generated from information and reservation services. Cost of medical products sold and maintenance services were RMB 35.6 million, down 18.3% year-over-year, primarily due to a decrease in costs associated with the sales of medical equipment. Cost of other services were RMB 15.2 million, down 64.6% year-over-year, primarily due to a decrease in costs associated with So-Young Prime.
Total operating expenses were RMB 255.6 million, up 13.6% year-over-year. Sales and marketing expenses were RMB 130.7 million, up 13.8% year-over-year, primarily due to the increase in expenses associated with the branding and user acquisition activities for our aesthetic centers. G&A expenses were RMB 88.6 million, up 26.7% year-over-year and 12.4% quarter-over-quarter, primarily due to the one-time accrual of approximately RMB 5.8 million year-end bonuses and the business expansion of our branded aesthetic centers. R&D expenses were RMB 36.3 million, down 9.6% year-over-year and up 16.5% quarter-over-quarter. The year-over-year decrease was primarily due to improved staff efficiency, while the sequential increase was due to the one-time accrual of approximately RMB 3.6 million year-end bonuses and continued investment in Miracle laser products, particularly in clinical trials. Income tax expenses were RMB 1.1 million compared with RMB 2.1 million in the same period of 2024.
Net loss attributable to So-Young International was RMB 64.3 million compared with a net income attributable to So-Young International of RMB 20.3 million during the same period last year. Non-GAAP net loss attributable to So-Young International was RMB 61.6 million compared with Non-GAAP net income attributable to So-Young International of RMB 22.2 million during the same period of 2024. Basic and diluted losses per ADS attributable to ordinary shareholders were RMB 0.64 and RMB 0.64 respectively, compared with basic and diluted earnings per ADS attributable to ordinary shareholders of RMB 0.2 and RMB 0.2 respectively during the same period of 2024. As of September 30th, 2025, our cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, and term deposits, term deposits and short-term investments were RMB 942.8 million, primarily due to an increase of investment in branded aesthetic centers.
Looking ahead to the fourth quarter of 2025, we expect aesthetic treatment services revenues to be between RMB 216 million and RMB 226 million, representing a 165.8%-178.1% increase from the same period in 2024. This outlook reflects our confidence in the strong growth momentum of our branded aesthetic center business. As we near the 50 center milestone, we have also seen continued improvement in center-level profitability and operating cash flow, demonstrating our model's scalability and operational efficiency. Going forward, we will pursue disciplined expansion while maintaining our focus on operational excellence and cost optimization to drive sustainable and quality growth. These efforts will reinforce the financial resilience of our aesthetic center business and create enduring value for our shareholders. This concludes our key remarks. I will now turn over the call to the operator and open the call for QA. Thank you.
Operator (participant)
We will now begin the question-and-answer session. To ask a question, you may press star then one on your touchtone phone. If you are using a speakerphone, please pick up your handset before pressing the keys. If at any time your question has been addressed and you would like to withdraw your question, please press star then two. At this time, we will pause momentarily to assemble our roster. The first question comes from Hai Jingpeng with Citic Securities. Please go ahead.
Hai Jingpeng (Analyst)
[Foreign Language] Okay, thank you for taking my question. This is Hai Jingpeng from Citic Securities. First of all, congratulations to the company on the continued rapid expansion of the chain clinics. I would like to ask management to further share about the opening plans for next year, including your regional strategy and the expected pace for new clinic openings by quarter. Thank you.
Xing Jin (Founder, Chairman and CEO)
[Foreign Language]
Mona Qiao (Company Representative)
By the end of 2025, we will reach 50 centers. Our goal is to lay a solid foundation, focusing on improving customer acquisition efficiency and growing user base. As the business scales, we will enter a new stage of development, relying more on digitalization and AI capabilities to replicate service processes. This will drive breakthroughs in the bottlenecks the industry often faces, providing support for a broader build-out in the following up stage. The number of new centers to be opened next year will remain consistent with previous plans and will not be less than 35. We will keep the overall pace of center opening balanced, progressing on a quarterly basis to ensure every new center quickly enters the operation phase following its establishment. Our focus will remain on first-tier cities since they have strong demand and high repurchase rate potential, which will help us quickly build up regional density and amplify brand equity. At the same time, we will also systematically establish a presence in second-tier cities with a mature consumer base to validate our model and gain experience for long-term expansion.
Xing Jin (Founder, Chairman and CEO)
[Foreign Language]
Mona Qiao (Company Representative)
Thank you.
Hai Jingpeng (Analyst)
[Foreign Language]
Operator (participant)
The next question comes from Stacy Chen with Haitong International. Please go ahead.
Stacy Chen (Analyst)
[Foreign Language]I will transmit myself. First of all, congratulations to the management for achieving such, rapid growth even during the off-season quarter. I noted that you have released the core member data this quarter. So, could you explain more about the membership system for the aesthetic center business and how we, conduct the membership operations? Thank you.
Xing Jin (Founder, Chairman and CEO)
[Foreign Language]
Mona Qiao (Company Representative)
The membership system is core to aesthetic center's operations. Each time a user completes a visit, a record is created, which helps us build a clear, tiered membership system from level one to eight and identify high-value users with multiple visits and ongoing engagement. Level three and above are the finance core members. They have higher center visit frequency and greater flexibility to select additional services, with annual spending 2.5x higher than the average, making them the group driver for aesthetic center. During Q3, they contributed a high double-digit percentage of our aesthetic center business revenue, with a repurchase rate of nearly 20%. We provide tiered benefits and service touch points based on individual user consumption patterns, which ensures they continuously perceive bright value and receive positive reinforcement, further boosting repeat purchase rates.
Xing Jin (Founder, Chairman and CEO)
[Foreign Language]
Mona Qiao (Company Representative)
In Q3, our membership operations made solid progress. Users with verified visits increased by nearly 40,000, 36% quarter-to-quarter, including over 10,000 new core members, up 40% quarter-to-quarter.
Xing Jin (Founder, Chairman and CEO)
[Foreign Language]
Mona Qiao (Company Representative)
Additionally, we've also enhanced repeat customer value operations. Specifically, repeat customer revenue reached RMB 120 million in Q3, up 32% quarter-to-quarter, accounting for 65% of aesthetic treatment service revenues. Verified treatment basis from repeat customers surged over four times year-over-year to 50,000, while our pool also increased. These metrics all exceeded our targets. Going forward, we will continue, we will focus on conversion of highly active users and extending the life cycle of high-value users.
Xing Jin (Founder, Chairman and CEO)
[Foreign Language]
Mona Qiao (Company Representative)
Thank you.
Operator (participant)
The next question comes from Nelson Cheung with Citi. Please go ahead. Nelson, is your line muted? Nelson, do you want to check if your line is muted? We will move on to James Wang with GS Securities. Please go ahead, James.
James Wang (Executive Director and Equity Research Analyst)
[Foreign Language] Okay. My question for company is how is the Miracle PLLA 3.0, selling, since its end of September launch and what is new compared to the previous version and what's the plan for promoting it?
Xing Jin (Founder, Chairman and CEO)
[Foreign Language]
Mona Qiao (Company Representative)
Medical PLLA version three was an important upgrade on the supply chain in China's medical aesthetic market. PLLA is still mostly used as an injectable for shipping. Before launching, we conducted research in South Korea and found that the medical aesthetic there adopts a more standardized and safer skin booster technique. After multiple rounds of testing, we launched suite. In terms of products, its ultra, micro series comes with five key features, including ultra-smooth, ultra-solid, ultra-fine, ultra-peel, and ultra-active. Across safety results and longevity, these features make the product the best fit for skin boosters. Moreover, with its overall performance upgraded, medical PLLA version three is also more competitively priced, offering consumers a high-quality yet value-for-money experience.
Xing Jin (Founder, Chairman and CEO)
[Foreign Language]
Mona Qiao (Company Representative)
Regarding the promotion, we made upgrades based on the market landscape and user pinpoints. To capture user mind share, we adopted Sutures American, more suitable for skin boosters, and introduced the concept of ultra micro spheres to take the lead in the segment. We also released two versions: Miracle PLLA 3.0 and Miracle PLLA 3.0 Pro, to address different users' needs and budgets, thereby lowering the decision threshold for users. The first batch of 5,000 units was fully sold out within a short time. The massive rival is expected in late November. We will continue to drive market penetration rate for Miracle PLLA 3.0, converting users more efficiently and increasing our pool and user loyalty.
Xing Jin (Founder, Chairman and CEO)
[Foreign Language]
Mona Qiao (Company Representative)
Market feedback shows that medical PLLA version three is receiving high attention. We implemented an online purchase limit of one purchase per user. From these purchases, we can see that about 56% of users picked the Pro version priced at RMB 4,999, reflecting the trust they place in our Bright-end product. In the next year or two, the PLLA that we have been working on upstream is expected to receive approval for launch, which should reduce procurement costs by several times.
Xing Jin (Founder, Chairman and CEO)
[Foreign Language]
Mona Qiao (Company Representative)
Overall, medical PLLA version three is not just a product upgrade. It's an important part of supply chain construction and blockbuster strategy. We will adopt the same approach for future categories. We will continue to deepen the vertical integration of our supply chain, further enhance safety, and continuously convert upstream manufacturers into long-term supply partners. Simultaneously, we will leverage our advantage in marketing products, doctors, and channels to build differentiated areas and solidify our bright mode.
Xing Jin (Founder, Chairman and CEO)
[Foreign Language]
Mona Qiao (Company Representative)
Thank you.
Operator (participant)
The next question comes from Nelson Cheung with Citi. Please go ahead.
Nelson Cheung (VP and Equity Research Analyst)
[Foreign Language]
Mona Qiao (Company Representative)
[Foreign Language]
Nelson Cheung (VP and Equity Research Analyst)
Thanks for mentioning, for taking my question and congratulations on the solid quarter. With the expanding, expected plan to count, how do we ensure the safety and compliance of the entire chain system? How does the internal quality control mechanism work? Thank you.
Xing Jin (Founder, Chairman and CEO)
[Foreign Language]
Mona Qiao (Company Representative)
This is our top priority. We have built a six-pillar compliance framework covering compliance, risk control, supervision, internal audit, medical service delivery, and information security departments, and we will continue to make this framework more refined and systematic.
Xing Jin (Founder, Chairman and CEO)
[Foreign Language]
Mona Qiao (Company Representative)
We adhere to high standards and results. On the treatment side, we only offer six mature medical aesthetic treatments with clear mechanisms and solid user feedback to avoid potential risks. On the personnel side, we implement regular doctors' qualification assessments with an acceptance rate of around 10%. All doctors are also required to complete pre-employment training and regular emergency drills to ensure the highest professional service and emergency response capabilities.
Xing Jin (Founder, Chairman and CEO)
[Foreign Language]
Mona Qiao (Company Representative)
Medical service delivery, we implement a tiered diagnosis that matches treatment with doctors based on their qualification levels. We conduct regular online and offline inspections as part of our quality control, ensuring reliable medical service across all centers.
Xing Jin (Founder, Chairman and CEO)
[Foreign Language]
Mona Qiao (Company Representative)
If there is any user feedback or dispute, we handle it at headquarters with a crisis response team composed of key departments, including user experience, PR, GR, and legal. Currently, our average response time is under two hours. We issue resolution completed within two days. The compliance rate is below 1%.
Xing Jin (Founder, Chairman and CEO)
[Foreign Language]
Mona Qiao (Company Representative)
Going forward, we will continue to uphold the highest standards of safety and compliance. With digital and AI tools, we aim to further enhance quality control efficiency and ensure consistent medical service quality and user safety across all centers as the business continues to grow rapidly.
Xing Jin (Founder, Chairman and CEO)
[Foreign Language]
Mona Qiao (Company Representative)
Thank you.
Operator (participant)
The next question comes from Jenny Xu with CICC. Please go ahead.
Jenny Xu (Senior Software Engineer)
[Foreign Language] Let me repeat it in English. So, how does the management view the potential for improving the profitability of the, aesthetic standard business in the future? Thank you.
Xing Jin (Founder, Chairman and CEO)
[Foreign Language]
Mona Qiao (Company Representative)
We believe the first priority now is to expand our user base and ensure the improvement of operating profit as it scales. As the operating model gradually matures, we are confident profitability will improve.
Xing Jin (Founder, Chairman and CEO)
[Foreign Language]
Mona Qiao (Company Representative)
On the cost side, we continue to optimize the structure of our customer acquisition channels, including referrals from existing customers and both public and private domain traffic, continuously consolidating our advantage in customer acquisition costs. In addition, there is significant room to lower the consumable costs. For instance, we recently upgraded medical PLLA from version two to version three. As the new product is loyal, it will strengthen our buying power with upstream partners and further optimize our cost framework. In the future, with the gradual realization of digitalization, AI, and economics of scale, the fixed cost in data operations will be fully diluted.
Xing Jin (Founder, Chairman and CEO)
[Foreign Language]
Mona Qiao (Company Representative)
On the revenue side, as users increasingly prioritize results and professionalism, they are willing to spend on premium treatments, coupled with high-quality medical aesthetic products and other operations of the existing category, are fully expected to continue on this trajectory. Leveraging our blockbuster strategy, treatment will have gradually concentrated on a number of SKUs. With the revenue share of blockbuster products increasing, the top nine products contributed over 30% of revenue in Q3. This lays a solid foundation to further improve our profit margins through proprietary customized products. Once the number of aesthetic centers and verified treatment visits reach a certain level, we will focus on enhancing the LTV of core members, further driving profit margin. Therefore, we believe there is great potential for the profitability of the aesthetic center business to increase from its current base. Thank you, operator.
Operator (participant)
The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation, and you may now disconnect.