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ZTO Express (ZTO) Lags Q1 Earnings Estimates, Up 16.7% Y/Y

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ZTO Express’ (ZTO - Free Report) first-quarter 2021 earnings (excluding 4 cents from non-recurring items) of 14 cents per share missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4 cents. However, the bottom line increased 16.7% year over year.

Total revenues of $987.9 million (RMB 6,473 million) increased in double digits year over year, owing to rise in revenues at the core express delivery services unit (contributing 87.6% to the top line).

Detailed Operational Statistics

Revenues in Express delivery services surged 65.2% year over year due to 88.5% jump in parcel volume and 12.4% decline in parcel unit price mainly driven by competition and per parcel weight decline. Parcel volume market share increased by 1.5 percentage points to 20.4%.

Freight forwarding services revenues augmented 66.8% year over year, owing to increase in cross-border e-commerce demand and improved pricing amid coronavirus concerns. Also, revenues from sale of accessories increased 47% year over year due to higher usage of lower-priced single-sheet digital waybill since the second half of 2019.

Meanwhile, total operating expenses of this China-based company climbed up 3.8% to RMB 463.7 million. Selling, general and administrative expenses rose 10.7% year over year, with increases in salaries and accrued bonuses.

ZTO Express Cayman Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

 

ZTO Express Cayman Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

ZTO Express Cayman Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | ZTO Express Cayman Inc. Quote

 

Gross margin deteriorated to 16.9% in the first quarter from 20.9% in the year-ago quarter. As of Mar 31, 2021, ZTO Express repurchased 17.4 million ADSs at an average price of $23.14. On Mar 31, the board of directors approved modifications to its share repurchase program by increasing the aggregate value of shares that may be bought back from $500 million to $1 billion and extending the effective time to Jun 30, 2023.

ZTO Express still anticipates parcel volumes in the range of CNY22.95-CNY23.80 billion for 2021, suggesting an increase in the 35-40% range from the figure reported in 2020.

Liquidity

ZTO Express, carrying a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), exited the first quarter with cash and cash equivalents of RMB 11.1 billion compared with RMB 14.2 billion at the end of 2020. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Sectorial Snapshots

Let’s glance through some other earnings reports from companies within the Zacks Transportation sector.

Canadian National Railway Co. (CNI - Free Report) reported first-quarter 2021 earnings (excluding 11 cents from non-recurring items) of 97 cents per share (C$1.23), missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 99 cents. Quarterly revenues of $2,791.6 million (C$3,535 million) lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2,813.1 million.

Landstar System (LSTR - Free Report) reported first-quarter 2021 earnings of $2.01 per share, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.61. Revenues of $1,287.5 million outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1,142.5 million.

Southwest Airlines (LUV - Free Report) incurred a loss of $1.72 per share (excluding $1.91 from non-recurring items) in the first quarter of 2021, narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of $1.82. Moreover, operating revenues of $2,052 million surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2,031.7 million.

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