SHANGHAI, China, Feb. 28, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — ECARX Holdings Inc. announced unaudited financial results for the quarter ended December 31, 2023. The company’s revenue grew 31% year-over-year, driven by a surge in demand for their digital cockpit solutions.
“Our innovative digital cockpit solutions are gaining considerable traction in the market as we bring our sophisticated in-car experience to new EV models with truly international reach and build stronger brand awareness among global automotive OEMs. This was reflected in the launch of the Polestar 4 and Volvo EX30 during the quarter which showcased our customized OS and Cloudpeak software stack.” said ECARX Chairman and CEO Ziyu Shen.
He added “We also added one new mass-market Japanese brand and secured multiple EV project wins through our strategic collaboration with one of China’s top automotive OEM groups which underscores our ability to seamlessly develop full-stack solutions in close cooperation with our partners. While we continue to invest in our future long-term growth, we are simultaneously working to improve operating efficiency across our supply chain to build a sustainable path towards profitability as our business scale grows. With growth momentum picking up, we are confident in our ability to capitalize on the long-term growth of the EV sector, both in China and globally, to create substantial value for our shareholders.”
Fourth Quarter 2023 Financial Results:
- Total revenue of RMB1,868.7 million (US$263.1 million), up 22% year-over-year (“YoY”).
- Sales of goods revenue of RMB1,313.0 million (US$184.9 million), up 26% YoY, primarily driven by the increase in sales volume for digital cockpits with the launches of Geely Auto and Geely Ecosystems new vehicle programs.
- Software license revenue of RMB92.6 million (US$13.0 million), down 62% YoY, primarily due to RMB133.3 million intellectual property licenses revenue recorded in the same period last year, and a decrease in the operating software sales volume.
- Service revenue of RMB463.1 million (US$65.2 million), up 95% YoY, due to the service completion and delivery of Volvo EX30 and Polestar 4 during the quarter.
- Total cost of revenue was RMB1,437.2 million (US$202.5 million), up 31% YoY, primarily driven by an increase in sales volume of digital cockpits and service revenue.
- Gross profit of RMB431.5 million (US$60.6 million), up 1% YoY, giving a gross margin of 23%.
- Research and development expenses were RMB473.4 million (US$66.7 million), down 7% due to lower share-based compensation expenses during the quarter offset by a higher investment in our core product roadmap and international research and development expansion.
- Selling, general and administrative expenses and others, net were RMB255.4 million (US$36.0 million), down 60% YoY, primarily driven by lower share-based compensation expenses in the quarter and merger expenses of RMB34.9million recorded in the same quarter last year.
- Net loss of RMB322.9 million (US$45.7 million), down 57% YoY and up 15% quarter-over-quarter (“QoQ”). The YoY decrease was primarily attributed to lower share-based compensation expenses in the quarter while the QoQ increase was mainly due to higher research and development expenses.
- Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) loss of RMB232.4 million (US$32.9 million), up from Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) loss of RMB221.5 million from the same period last year.
- Total cash of RMB588.2 million (US$82.8 million), including RMB27.1 million (US$3.8 million) in restricted cash, as of December 31, 2023.
Full Year 2023 Financial Results:
On June 30, 2023, ECARX signed transaction agreements to increase its investment and took a controlling financial interest in JICA Intelligent Robotics Co., Ltd. (“JICA”), an entity under common control. Consequently, they present these consolidated results by combining assets, liabilities, revenues, expenses, and equity of Ecarx and JICA. The company used the pooling-of-interests method as though the transaction occurred at the beginning of the comparative period presented. All intercompany transactions and balances between the combining entities have been eliminated.
- Total revenue was RMB4,666.1 million (US$657.1 million), up 31% compared to RMB3,562.1 million in 2022.
- Sales of goods revenue was RMB3,311.5 million (US$466.4 million), up 36% compared to RMB2,434.0 million in 2022, primarily driven by an increase in sales volume of digital cockpits with the launches of Geely Auto & Geely Ecosystem brands new vehicle programs, as well as the ramp-up of new digital cockpit sales volumes and the shift in portfolio revenue mix from infotainment head units (IHUs) to digital cockpits, which have a higher total revenue per unit.
- Software license revenue was RMB444.8 million (US$62.6 million), up 10% compared to RMB404.5 million in 2022, primarily driven by intellectual property licenses and new software solutions revenue growth.
- Service revenue was RMB909.8 million (US$128.1 million), up 26% compared to RMB723.6 million in 2022, was primarily contributed by higher design and development service revenue with the delivery of new EV models Volvo EX30 and Polestar 4.
- Total cost of revenue was RMB3,396.2 million (US$478.3 million), up 32% compared to RMB2,568.1 million in 2022, primarily driven by an increase in sales volume of digital cockpits and higher mix of new digital cockpits which have a higher total cost per unit. The increased sales volume and these new digital cockpits contributed to the increase in the cost of goods sold. The increase in cost of services was mainly due to the increase in revenues from the design and development of automotive computing platforms.
- Gross profit was RMB1,269.9 million (US$178.8 million), up 28% compared to RMB994.0 million in 2022, giving a gross margin of 27% (compared to 28% in 2022).
- Research and development expenses were RMB1,264.3 million (US$178.1 million), down 5% compared to RMB1,332.8 million in 2022, mainly due to lower share-based compensation expenses during the year offset by a higher investment in our core product roadmap and international research and development expansion.
- Selling, general and administrative expenses and others, net were RMB923.4 million (US$130.1 million), down 28% compared to RMB1,289.3 million in 2022, primarily driven by lower share-based compensation expenses during the year.
- Net loss of RMB1,015.3 million (US$143.2 million), down 37% compared to RMB1,606.9 million in 2022, primarily attributable to incremental gross profit from revenue growth and lower share-based compensation expense during the year offset by gains on deconsolidation of a subsidiary and an equity security, and higher government grants recorded in 2022 compared to 2023.
- Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) loss of RMB710.3 million (US$100.2 million), an improvement from Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) loss of RMB746.9 million in 2022.
Fourth Quarter 2023 Business Development:
- Expanding Global Customer Base and Partnerships
- Over 6 million vehicles on the road with ECARX products as of December 31, 2023
- Solid and growing pipeline with 49 vehicle models equipped with ECARX solutions expected to launch over the next 18 months
- Added a mass-market Japanese brand to the Company’s customer base
- Secured multiple project wins for EV models through our strategic collaboration with one of China’s top automotive OEM groups and three project wins within the Geely ecosystem
- Strengthened collaboration with Black Sesame to bring powerful ADAS solutions to the market and to further develop our intelligent driving ecosystem
- Formed joint venture with smart to drive development of intelligent automotive products
- Vehicle Launches
- Volvo EX30 equipped with ECARX Cloudpeak launched across 33 markets internationally
- Polestar 4 is equipped with Polestar OS, the customized OS based on Flyme Auto. It also features an integrated driver-assist system developed in partnership with Mobileye.
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