Didi Global’s revenue falls 12.7% amid preparations for US delisting
Summary
- Chinese ride-hailing firm will hold a shareholders meeting in May to vote on its delisting from NYSE
Didi Global Inc. said Saturday its fourth-quarter revenue fell 12.7% from the same period a year earlier as the ride-hailing firm, under a cybersecurity investigation by Chinese regulators, prepares to delist from the New York Stock Exchange.
The Chinese ride-hailing company, based in Beijing, separately said it would hold a shareholders meeting May 23 to vote on its delisting from the NYSE. To cooperate with the continuing cybersecurity probe, Didi said, it won’t seek a public listing elsewhere before the U.S. delisting is completed.
Additionally, Didi said Martin Lau, president and executive director of Tencent Holdings Ltd., has resigned from its board. Mr. Lau’s successor is Fengxia Liang, who is Tencent’s associate general counsel. This board change follows the resignation of a Didi board member, Daniel Zhang, in December. Mr. Zhang is Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s chairman and chief executive.
China’s securities regulator said Saturday, in response to Didi’s delisting announcement, that Didi’s decision to withdraw from the U.S. market was an independent one made by the company that has nothing to do with other U.S.-listed Chinese stocks. The China Securities Regulatory Commission also said Didi’s decision isn’t related to ongoing discussions between the two countries about auditing requirements.
Didi posted the equivalent of $6.4 billion in revenue for the three months ended Dec. 31. A 15.1% decline in revenue of its core ride-hailing business in China was responsible for the decrease in overall revenue. The decline comes after Chinese regulators ordered app stores to take down Didi’s ride-hailing apps.
The company reported a net loss equivalent to $27 million for the fourth quarter.
For the 12 months ended Dec. 31, Didi reported revenue equivalent to $27.3 billion, up 22.6% from the previous fiscal year. Its annual net loss in 2021 was $7.7 billion.
Didi has become a regulatory target since its $4.4 billion U.S. initial public offering in June. Chinese regulators last July launched a probe into the company’s data infrastructure and forced some of its popular apps to be taken down just days after Didi went public.
The company in early December said it planned to delist from the NYSE and relist in Hong Kong. Shares of Didi fell in March after Bloomberg reported that the company has suspended preparations for the Hong Kong listing. On Saturday, Didi said that its U.S. shares could continue to trade over-the-counter after they are delisted.
Didi’s share price has declined since last summer. On Thursday, the New York-listed shares closed at $2.46, down 82% from its IPO price of $14.
This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text
