SF Express Q1 revenue increased 6% year-on-year to 74.1 billion yuan, net profit grew 13% year-on-year, mutually invested with J&T Express, dual A+H share repurchases underway | Financial report news

Against the backdrop of geopolitical conflicts disrupting trade, SF Holdings achieved operating revenue of 74.14 billion yuan in the first quarter, a year-on-year increase of 6.1%; completed a total parcel volume of 3.73 billion, a year-on-year increase of 4.9%, maintaining steady growth on a high base.

Profitability improvement was even more notable. Net profit attributable to shareholders was 2.53 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 13.0%; net profit margin attributable to shareholders rose to 3.4%. Net profit excluding non-recurring items attributable to shareholders was 2.32 billion yuan, up 17.4% year-on-year, with a net profit margin excluding non-recurring items reaching 3.1%. The growth rate of profits significantly outpaced revenue growth, reflecting the substantive effectiveness of the “value-driven management” strategy.

At the gross profit level, the first quarter achieved gross profit of 10.19 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 9.7%, with a gross profit margin of 13.7%, up 0.4 percentage points year-on-year. Structural cost reduction and efficiency improvement mechanisms continued to exert force, allowing gross profit elasticity to outperform overall revenue growth.

In terms of capital operations, the company recently engaged in mutual equity investments with J&T Express, increased repurchases of A-shares and H-shares, and launched its “Growing Together” employee stock ownership plan for the first time. Multiple actions combined show management's confidence in long-term value and lay the foundation for strategic expansion.

Delivery and Logistics Business per-parcel Income Rebounds, Value-driven Transformation Shows Initial Results

In the first quarter, SF Express logistics business revenue grew by 5.9% year-on-year. Leveraging the stability of its direct network, the company precisely captured seasonal demand for New Year gifts and tourism travel, continuously enhancing scenario-based monetization capabilities.

More notably, the per-parcel income of the express logistics business achieved a year-on-year rebound. Previously, under the "activate operations" mechanism, the company was mainly scale-driven, putting some pressure on per-parcel pricing. The advanced mechanism launched in Q3 2025 will shift incentives from scale to value. This per-parcel income turnaround marks the initial success of this transformation, with high-value business share increasing, driving substantial improvements in the income structure.

On the cost side, the company continues to promote network flattening and differentiated layering, improving resource-matching efficiency during peak and trough periods. The dividends from improved operating efficiency are gradually transmitting to profits.

Supply Chain & International Business Revenue Up 8.2%, Outpacing Express Main Business

In Q1, SF’s supply chain and international business revenue grew 8.2% year-on-year, outpacing express delivery’s main business, with a continually rising share of total revenue. The strategic positioning of its "second growth curve" is becoming increasingly clear.

By product segment, international express, cross-border e-commerce logistics, overseas warehouses, and international supply chain business achieved robust revenue growth. The company’s “Asia only, globally covered” strategy is progressing steadily, and its forward-looking layout in international air, sea, and land trunk transportation, customs clearance capabilities, and core nodes for Asia-Pacific and European/US overseas warehouses is transforming into sustainable competitive advantages.

It should be noted that the international freight forwarding business’ revenue growth was impacted by fluctuations in ocean freight rates. However, with global network coverage and a diversified product portfolio, the company successfully hedged against the risks of single-business volatility, and the overall international segment maintained a high degree of prosperity. Global supply chain restructuring and the wave of Chinese enterprises going overseas offer sustainable structural opportunities for SF’s international business.

Expense Structure Mirrors Strategic Focus, Asset-liability Ratio Drops to 47.8%

In Q1, changes in SF’s expense structure clearly reflected the company’s current strategic priorities. Sales expense ratio and management expense ratio increased by 0.1 and 0.4 percentage points year-on-year, mainly due to increased sales incentives for high-value business expansion and accelerated sales capacity building for supply chain and international business—a strategic proactive layout, not a failure in cost control.

R&D expense ratio fell by 0.1 percentage points year-on-year, reflecting improved efficiency in investment in technology and smart initiatives; financial expense ratio dropped by 0.1 percentage points, thanks to continuous capital structure optimization and steady reduction of the asset-liability ratio. In absolute numbers, interest expenses fell from 513 million yuan in the same period last year to 393 million yuan, a notable decrease, providing extra support for profit growth.

As for cash flow, the net cash flow from operating activities in Q1 was 3.36 billion yuan, down 17.2% year-on-year, mainly due to a reduction in accounts payable (down about 3.1 billion yuan year-on-year) and seasonal factors such as employee compensation payments, but overall fluctuations remained within the normal range.

On the asset side, trading financial assets increased to 25.64 billion yuan (up from 16.19 billion yuan at the beginning of the period), primarily from expansion in structured deposits; other current assets dropped sharply due to the redemption of fixed-income certificates at maturity. On the liability side, the asset-liability ratio dropped from 49.0% at the beginning of the period to 47.8%, with the deleveraging process proceeding steadily. Treasury stock book scale expanded to 2.6 billion yuan, reflecting the ongoing execution of the A-share buyback plan.

Mutual Equity Investment with J&T Express, Dual A+H Share Buybacks Advance

SF’s mutual equity investment with J&T Express was the most eye-catching strategic event of Q1. The company plans to subscribe to new shares of J&T Express for about HKD 8.3 billion, raising its stake to 10%; at the same time, it will issue equivalent new H-shares to J&T. The complementary coordination of both parties in cross-border initial leg and last-mile delivery is expected to further strengthen SF’s end-to-end international logistics capabilities, especially in Southeast Asia and emerging markets. As of the report disclosure date, this transaction is still pending settlement.

On buybacks, the company raised the ceiling of its A-share buyback plan to 6 billion yuan, with clear intention for cancellation. As of the end of March, it had bought back a cumulative 67.04 million shares at a cost of around 2.6 billion yuan; it also launched its first H-share repurchase plan, not exceeding HKD 500 million, forming an A+H dual repurchase structure.

In addition, the “Growing Together” stock ownership plan completed its first attribution, with 6,407 employees receiving about 13.91 million shares, further binding core talent to the company’s long-term interests and aiding the continuous release of organizational vitality.

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