ZTO Express-W announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2026. Revenue reached RMB 132.82 billion, representing a year-on-year increase of 22.0%. Net profit attributable to shareholders was RMB 21.564 billion, up 5.7% compared to the same period last year. Adjusted net profit stood at RMB 23.77 billion, a growth of 5.2%. The adjusted basic earnings per American Depositary Share for ordinary shareholders were RMB 3.01. Parcel volume for the quarter amounted to 9.668 billion, a 13.2% increase from 8.539 billion in the first quarter of 2025. As of March 31, 2026, the company had over 31,000 pickup and delivery outlets and approximately 6,000 direct network partners. It owned more than 10,000 line-haul vehicles and operated about 3,800 inter-hub transportation routes. The number of sorting centers totaled 93, with 88 operated by the company itself and 5 by its network partners. Mr. Meisong Lai, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of ZTO Express, stated, "In the first quarter of 2026, ZTO remained focused on service quality, customer satisfaction, optimizing operational cost efficiency, and enhancing the fairness and transparency of network policies. Driven by strong growth in Key Account (KA) customer business volume, our parcel volume reached 9.7 billion, a 13.2% year-on-year increase, which was 7.4 percentage points higher than the industry average growth rate. We achieved an adjusted net profit of RMB 24 billion. The growth rate of the individual parcel business continued to outpace that of traditional e-commerce business, which not only optimized our revenue structure but also contributed positively to the overall profit level." Mr. Lai added, "The Chinese express delivery industry is benefiting from the ongoing effects of policies aimed at curbing excessive internal competition. This quarter, industry-wide profits generally increased, with profit growth in some cases even exceeding volume growth, fully demonstrating the industry's increasing emphasis on high-quality development. ZTO's development strategy, which prioritizes quality, aligns closely with regulatory guidance. While continuously maintaining leading operational efficiency in the industry, we are constantly committed to fairness and transparency in network policies, which is of great significance for the long-term sustainable development of the network. 'Shared Growth' has never been just a slogan. Especially against the backdrop of our network's extensive breadth and depth, insisting on network fairness and empowering partner development is our long-term work. Relying on digital and intelligent means and solid execution, from headquarters down to the smallest capillaries, we are solidifying a unified understanding of the overall network strategic objectives and coordinated execution steps." Ms. Huiping Yan, Chief Financial Officer of ZTO Express, commented, "In the first quarter, the average parcel price for ZTO's core express delivery business increased by 8.2% year-on-year. This was mainly attributable to the increased proportion of KA business, especially reverse logistics. The resulting price impact fully offset the pressure on unit price from incremental incentives. Benefiting from economies of scale, the combined cost per parcel for transportation and sorting decreased by RMB 0.06 year-on-year. This quarter, the ratio of selling expenses (excluding share-based compensation) to revenue decreased to approximately 4.5% from 4.7% in the same period last year. Cash flow from operating activities was RMB 2.8 billion, and capital expenditure was RMB 1.8 billion." Ms. Yan further added, "The long-term sustainable development strategy we have focused on for many years has also shown significant results during the economic stabilization and recovery phase. Our unique partner model requires regular review of strategic priorities and corresponding adjustments to the allocation of costs and profits, enabling franchisees and couriers to walk the long road with us. Against the backdrop of stabilizing industry growth, our business volume growth benefits from the continued advancement of policies against excessive competition and also reflects our original intention of symbiotic success and the effectiveness of various network empowerment initiatives. We are committed to consolidating our leading scale advantage. In this regard, we maintain our full-year guidance for parcel volume growth of 10% to 13% year-on-year."
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