Three OTA Half-Year Reports: Growth Logic Shifts as Ctrip Bets on International, Tongcheng Acquires…

Key points

• Ctrip's H1 net revenue was RMB 31.871 billion, up 11.15% year on year; due to the one-off antitrust penalty, net profit attributable to shareholders fell to RMB 4.1 million, with a Q2 net loss of RMB 2.458 billion.
• Tongcheng Travel's H1 revenue was RMB 9.993 billion, up 10.5% year on year; net profit was RMB 1.411 billion, up 7.67%; accommodation booking revenue was RMB 2.845 billion, up 11.1%, and transport ticketing revenue was RMB 3.962 billion, up 2.1%.
• Tuniu's H1 net revenue was about RMB 272 million, up 7.58% year on year; Q2 net profit was only RMB 709,000, down 95% year on year, with an operating loss of RMB 6.084 million.
• Ctrip is betting on international business: H1 inbound tourism orders rose 95% year on year, serving 15 million inbound travellers; Q2 international platform revenue growth climbed above 50% year on year.
• Tongcheng Travel's other business revenue was RMB 1.987 billion, up 46.3% year on year, mainly driven by hotel management; as of end-June, eLong Hotel Technology and Wanda Hotel Management operated over 3,500 hotels, with over 2,000 more in the pipeline.
• Tongcheng Travel acquired 88.74% of Dida Chuxing for about HK$1.424 billion; Dida has 415 million registered users and 21 million verified car owners.
• Tuniu built over 200 livestreaming accounts and nearly 500 offline stores; Q2 sales and marketing expenses were RMB 54.7 million, up 21.5% year on year, rising to 39.4% of net revenue.
• Regulatory scrutiny is deepening: in July the SAMR penalized Ctrip for abuse of market dominance with a total fine and confiscation of RMB 5.179 billion; on Sept 15 the SAMR and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism issued administrative guidance to online hotel booking platforms.