Trip.com Group reported that its net revenue for the fourth quarter of 2020 declined 40% to RMB 5.0 billion (USD 761 million). Loss from operations for the fourth quarter of 2020 was RMB 16 million (USD 2 million).
The company said its China domestic business continues to show strong recovery momentum: domestic air ticketing business maintained positive year-over-year revenue growth in the fourth quarter and domestic hotel GMV maintained positive growth, with mid-to-high-end domestic hotel reservations reaching double-digit year-over-year growth in the quarter.
"2020 was a challenging year. However, it also made us fundamentally stronger than ever before" said James Liang, Executive Chairman. "During the past year, we continued to innovate our products, improve service offerings, and strengthen our collaborations with partners, which led to further market share gains across our product lines. In the near term, we will focus on the domestic market in terms of supply chain, product innovation, content capabilities, quality and technology; while at the same time, we remain ambitious with a global vision to drive our sustainable growth post pandemic."
"We delivered another solid performance in the fourth quarter, despite facing industry fluctuations and weak winter seasonality" said Jane Sun, Chief Executive Officer. "We are glad to see that our domestic business continued to outpace the industry in the fourth quarter and entering into 2021. Thanks to our efficiency improvement and stringent cost control, we were able to achieve 2% non-GAAP operating profit margin for full year of 2020. The strong recovery of China domestic market demonstrates the resilience of the travel industry. We are well prepared to take on additional share when international travel opens up as well."
For the fourth quarter of 2020, Trip.com Group reported net revenue of RMB 5.0 billion (USD 761 million), representing a 40% decrease from the same period in 2019. Net revenue for the fourth quarter of 2020 decreased by 9% from the previous quarter, primarily due to seasonality.
For the full year ended December 31, 2020, net revenue was RMB 18.3 billion (USD 2.8 billion), representing a 49% decrease from 2019.
Accommodation reservation revenue for the fourth quarter of 2020 was RMB 2.2 billion (USD 344 million), representing a 24% decrease from the same period in 2019, and a 9% decrease from the previous quarter, primarily due to seasonality.
For the full year ended December 31, 2020, accommodation reservation revenue was RMB 7.1 billion (USD 1.1 billion), representing a 47% decrease from 2019. The accommodation reservation revenue accounted for 39% of the total revenue in 2020 and 38% of the total revenue in 2019.
Transportation ticketing revenue for the fourth quarter of 2020 was RMB 1.7 billion (USD 260 million), representing a 51% decrease from the same period in 2019. Transportation ticketing revenue decreased by 11% from the previous quarter, primarily due to seasonality.
For the full year ended December 31, 2020, transportation ticketing revenue was RMB 7.1 billion (USD 1.1 billion), representing a 49% decrease from 2019. The transportation ticketing revenue accounted for 39% of the total revenue in 2020 and 2019.
Packaged-tour revenue for the fourth quarter of 2020 was RMB 262 million (USD 40 million), representing a 67% decrease from the same period in 2019, and a 20% decrease from the previous quarter.
For the full year ended December 31, 2020, packaged-tour revenue was RMB 1.2 billion (USD 190 million), representing a 73% decrease from 2019. The packaged-tour revenue accounted for 7% of the total revenue in 2020 and 13% of the total revenue in 2019.
Corporate travel revenue for the fourth quarter of 2020 was RMB 307 million (USD 47 million), representing a 17% decrease from the same period in 2019. Corporate travel revenue for the fourth quarter of 2020 increased by 9% from the previous quarter.
For the full year ended December 31, 2020, corporate travel revenue was RMB 877 million (USD 135 million), representing a 30% decrease from 2019. The corporate travel revenue accounted for 5% of the total revenue in 2020 and 4% of the total revenue in 2019.
Gross margin was 82% for the fourth quarter of 2020, which increased from 79% for the same period in 2019 and 81% for the previous quarter.
For the full year ended December 31, 2020, gross margin was 78%, compared to 79% in 2019.
Product development expenses for the fourth quarter of 2020 decreased by 20% to RMB 2.2 billion (USD 331 million) from the same period in 2019 and increased by 8% from the previous quarter, primarily due to the fluctuations in expenses related to product development personnel. Product development expenses for the fourth quarter of 2020 accounted for 44% of the net revenue. Excluding share-based compensation charges, non-GAAP product development expenses for the fourth quarter of 2020 accounted for 38% of the net revenue, which increased from 29% for the same period of 2019 and 32% for the previous quarter.
For the full year ended December 31, 2020, product development expenses decreased by 28% to RMB 7.7 billion (USD 1.2 billion) from 2019 and accounted for 42% of the net revenue. Excluding share-based compensation charges, non-GAAP product development expenses accounted for 37% of the net revenue, which increased from 27% in 2019.
Sales and marketing expenses for the fourth quarter of 2020 decreased by 50% to RMB 1.2 billion (USD 189 million) from the same period in 2019, primarily due to the decrease in expenses relating to sales and marketing promotion activities. Sales and marketing expenses increased by 9% from the previous quarter. Sales and marketing expenses for the fourth quarter of 2020 accounted for 25% of the net revenue. Excluding share-based compensation charges, non-GAAP sales and marketing expenses for the fourth quarter of 2020 accounted for 24% of the net revenue, which decreased from 29% in the same period in 2019 and increased from 20% in the previous quarter.
For the full year ended December 31, 2020, sales and marketing expenses decreased by 53% to RMB 4.4 billion (USD 675 million) from 2019 and accounted for 24% of the net revenue. Excluding share-based compensation charges, non-GAAP sales and marketing expenses accounted for 23% of the net revenue, which decreased from 26% in 2019.
Loss from operations for the fourth quarter of 2020 was RMB 16 million (USD 2 million), compared to the income of RMB 580 million in the same period in 2019 and RMB 790 million in the previous quarter. Excluding share-based compensation charges, non-GAAP income from operations was RMB 495 million (USD 77 million), compared to RMB 1.0 billion in the same period in 2019 and RMB 1.3 billion in the previous quarter.
For the full year ended December 31, 2020, loss from operations was RMB 1.4 billion (USD 218 million), compared to income of RMB 5.0 billion in 2019. Excluding share-based compensation charges, non-GAAP income from operations was RMB 450 million (USD 69 million), compared to RMB 6.8 billion in 2019.
Operating margin was 0% for the fourth quarter of 2020, compared to 7% in the same period in 2019, and 14% in the previous quarter. Excluding share-based compensation charges, non-GAAP operating margin was 10%, compared to 12% in the same period in 2019 and 24% in the previous quarter.
For the full year ended December 31, 2020, operating margin was -8%, compared to 14% in 2019. Excluding share-based compensation charges, non-GAAP operating margin was 2%, compared to 19% in 2019.
For the full year ended December 31, 2020, income tax expense was RMB 355 million (USD 54 million), compared to RMB 1.7 billion in 2019.
Net income attributable to Trip.com Group's shareholders for the fourth quarter of 2020 was RMB 1.0 billion (USD 155 million), compared to net income attributable to Trip.com Group's shareholders of RMB 2.0 billion in the same period in 2019 and RMB 1.6 billion in the previous quarter. Excluding share-based compensation charges and fair value changes of equity securities investments and exchangeable senior notes, non-GAAP net income attributable to Trip.com Group's shareholders was RMB 1.1 billion (USD 165 million), compared to RMB 1.2 billion in the same period in 2019 and RMB 1.4 billion in the previous quarter.
For the full year ended December 31, 2020, net loss attributable to Trip.com Group's shareholders was RMB 3.2 billion (USD 497 million), compared to net income attributable to Trip.com Group's shareholders of RMB 7.0 billion in 2019. Excluding share-based compensation charges and fair value changes of equity securities investments and exchangeable senior notes, non-GAAP net loss attributable to Trip.com Group's shareholders was RMB 913 million (USD 139 million), compared to non-GAAP net income attributable to Trip.com Group's shareholders of RMB 6.5 billion in 2019.
Diluted earnings per ADS were RMB 1.65 (USD 0.25) for the fourth quarter of 2020. Excluding share-based compensation charges and fair value changes of equity securities investments and exchangeable senior notes, non-GAAP diluted earnings per ADS were RMB 1.75 (USD 0.27) for the fourth quarter of 2020.
For the full year ended December 31, 2020, diluted losses per ADS were RMB 5.40 (USD 0.83). Excluding share-based compensation charges and fair value changes of equity securities investments and exchangeable senior notes, non-GAAP diluted losses per ADS were RMB 1.52 (USD 0.23).
As of December 31, 2020, the balance of cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, short-term investment, held to maturity time deposit and financial products was RMB 59.6 billion (USD 9.1 billion).
