BEIJING (Reuters) -Chinese ride-hailing company Didi Global on Tuesday reported a 7.1% rise in fourth-quarter revenue to 52.9 billion yuan ($7.32 billion), as its recovery from a regulatory overhaul of its operations gathered pace.
The Beijing-based company reported a net loss of 1.3 billion yuan for the quarter, versus a profit of 45 million yuan a year earlier, after adopting new accounting standards. The loss stemmed from non-operating items, including investment losses of 742 million yuan.
Didi drew the attention of China’s cyberspace regulator in 2021 over its pursuit of a U.S. initial public offering without approval, prompting an inquiry that prohibited it from adding users and saw many of its apps removed from stores.
The regulator fined Didi $1.2 billion in July 2022 over a data security violation, before granting the company permission to relaunch its apps in early 2023. The company was delisted from the U.S. in 2022.
Travel demand in China has shown signs of a recovery, though economic growth is sluggish. Didi completed 3.25 billion transactions during the quarter, a 10.8% year-on-year rise across its platforms in China.
While Didi maintains its dominant position in China’s ride-hailing sector despite the regulatory challenges, competition has ramped up.
Companies such as Alibaba and Meituan have integrated ride-hailing services into their broader digital ecosystems, attracting users who prefer consolidated super-apps. These platforms operate as aggregators, connecting passengers with multiple ride-hailing providers, including smaller regional operators.
Didi generates most of its revenue at home but also has a significant presence in Brazil and Mexico.
Fourth-quarter revenue from international operations rose to 3 billion yuan from 2.2 billion yuan a year earlier.
Over the past two years, Didi has been divesting non-core assets. Last August, it sold its smart cockpit unit to a subsidiary of state-backed map provider NavInfo.
In 2023, Didi divested its electric vehicle development business – the majority of its EV-related assets – to Xpeng.
($1 = 7.2228 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Reporting by Liam Mo and Brenda Goh, Editing by Louise Heavens and Kim Coghill)
