Waterdrop Inc. Announces Third Quarter 2024 Unaudited Financial Results

BEIJING, Dec. 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Waterdrop Inc. ("Waterdrop", the "Company" or "we") (NYSE: WDH), a leading technology platform dedicated to insurance and healthcare service with a positive social impact, today announced its unaudited financial results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024.

Financial and Operational Highlights for the Third Quarter of 2024

• Marked improvement in profitability and healthy liquidity: In the third quarter of 2024, net profit attributable to our ordinary shareholders reached RMB92.8 million, representing a year-over-year growth of 152.6%. As of September 30, 2024, we continued to generate positive operating cash flow during the third quarter of 2024.
• Strong business performance: For the third quarter of 2024, the first-year premiums ("FYP") generated through our insurance business amounted to RMB2,041.8 million (US$290.9 million), representing an increase of 20.4% year over year. Net operating revenue was RMB704.1 million (US$100.3 million), representing an increase of 2.6% year over year.
• Expanded crowdfunding coverage: As of September 30, 2024, around 466 million people cumulatively had donated an aggregate of RMB66.3 billion to 3.32 million patients through Waterdrop Medical Crowdfunding.
• Dependable performance in patient recruitment: As of September 30, 2024, the Company had cumulatively enrolled over 9,500 patients into 1,137 clinical trial programs through the E-Find Platform.

Mr. Peng Shen, Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of Waterdrop, commented, "We are delighted to announce another quarter of robust profitability, with net profit attributable to ordinary shareholders reaching 2.5 times that of the third quarter last year.

Our insurance business has achieved a 14.8% quarter-over-quarter growth in FYP and maintained an operating profit margin above 20%. We delivered solid FYP growth in both short-term and long-term insurance, driven by user acquisition, innovative tailor-made products, and the contribution of Shenlanbao. I believe with our data-driven user insights, unique product offerings, and diversified distribution channels, we are well-positioned to maintain a strong competitive advantage.

This quarter marks a significant milestone for our medical crowdfunding business and the industry as a whole, following the issuance of the 'Measures for Administration of Online Service Platforms for Individuals Seeking Financial Help' released by Ministry of Civil Affairs of PRC and other government departments on September 5, 2024. The Measures for Administration officially announce the legal framework of fundraising sector, and offer guidance on management and information transparency.

During this quarter, our digital clinical trial solution income continued its growth, realizing a quarter-over-quarter increase of 17.4%. We collaborated with a total of 184 pharmaceutical companies and contract research organizations ("CROs"). Moreover, we enrolled 909 patients and initiated services for 88 new programs during the third quarter of 2024.

We are also delighted to report notable progress in AI. Internally, 'AI Consultant', a conversational AI agent powered by our 'Waterdrop Guardian' large language model, has reached the capacity to generate million yuan in monthly premiums by serving user inquires. Meanwhile, a new application, 'AI Service Quality Agent', was deployed to streamline the service quality inspection process by replacing manual work. Externally, we launched 'AI Top Sales Platform 3.0', a conversational AI platform that customizes AI sales agents for businesses, and have initiated pilots with insurance carriers and companies in non-insurance sectors.

We value the trust from our investors and prioritize shareholder returns. By the end of November 2024, the Company had cumulatively repurchased approximately 50.9 million ADSs from the open market. Moreover, we recently completed our second special cash dividend of approximately US$7.3 million.

With our strong execution capability, ample cash reserves and continuous profitability, we will continue to focus on fostering sustainable growth, and strive to deliver substantial returns to our shareholders and investors."

Financial Results for the Third Quarter of 2024

Operating revenue, net

Net operating revenue for the third quarter of 2024 increased by 2.6% year over year to RMB704.1 million (US$100.3 million) from RMB686.5 million for the same period of 2023. On a quarter-over-quarter basis, net operating revenue increased by 4.1%.

• Insurance-related income includes insurance brokerage income and technical service income. Insurance brokerage income represents brokerage commissions earned from insurance companies. Technical service income is derived from providing technical services including customer relationship maintenance, customer complaint management, claim review, and user referral services, among other things, to insurance companies, insurance brokers, and agency companies. Our insurance-related income amounted to RMB600.7 million (US$85.6 million) in the third quarter of 2024, representing a decrease of 3.0% year over year from RMB619.3 million for the third quarter of 2023, which was mainly due to the decrease in technical service income. On a quarter-over-quarter basis, insurance-related income increased by 4.7%.
• Crowdfunding service fees represent the service income earned when patients successfully withdraw the proceeds from their crowdfunding campaigns. Our role is to operate the Waterdrop Medical Crowdfunding platform to provide crowdfunding related services through the internet, enabling patients with significant medical bills to seek help from caring hearts through technology (the "medical crowdfunding services"). Our medical crowdfunding services generally consist of providing technical and internet support, managing, reviewing and supervising the crowdfunding campaigns, providing comprehensive risk management and anti-fraud measures, and facilitating the collection and transfer of the funds. For the third quarter of 2024, we generated RMB65.8 million (US$9.4 million) in service fees, representing an increase of 83.0% year over year from RMB36.0 million for the third quarter of 2023. On a quarter-over-quarter basis, crowdfunding service fees decreased by 5.0%.
• Digital clinical trial solution income represents the service income earned from our customers mainly including biopharmaceutical companies and leading biotechnology companies. We match qualified and suitable patients for enrollment in clinical trials for our customers and generate digital clinical trial solution revenue for successful matches and we typically charge our customers a fixed unit price per successful match. For the third quarter of 2024, our digital clinical trial solution income amounted to RMB24.3 million (US$3.5 million), representing a decrease of 12.1% from RMB27.6 million in the same period of 2023. On a quarter-over-quarter basis, digital clinical trial solution income increased by 17.4%.

Operating costs and expenses

Operating costs and expenses decreased by 1.6% year over year to RMB677.7 million (US$96.6 million) for the third quarter of 2024. On a quarter-over-quarter basis, operating costs and expenses increased by 8.6%.

• Operating costs increased by 9.1% year over year to RMB340.6 million (US$48.5 million) for the third quarter of 2024, as compared with RMB312.3 million for the third quarter of 2023, which was primarily driven by (i) an increase of RMB46.5 million in costs of referral and service fees, partially offset by (ii) a decrease of RMB10.0 million in personnel costs, and (iii) a decrease of RMB7.0 million in the costs for crowdfunding consultants team. On a quarter-over-quarter basis, operating costs increased by 6.7% from RMB319.1 million, primarily due to (i) an increase of RMB32.6 million in costs of referral and service fees, partially offset by (ii) a decrease of RMB8.9 million in personnel costs, and (iii) a decrease of RMB5.1 million in the costs for crowdfunding consultants team.
• Sales and marketing expenses decreased by 7.7% year over year to RMB173.2 million (US$24.7 million) for the third quarter of 2024, as compared with RMB187.7 million for the same quarter of 2023. The decrease was primarily due to (i) a decrease of RMB36.5 million in personnel costs and share-based compensation expenses, partially offset by (ii) an increase of RMB21.1 million in marketing expenses to third-party traffic channels. On a quarter-over-quarter basis, sales and marketing expenses increased by 10.0% from RMB157.4 million, primarily due to (i) an increase of RMB14.4 million in marketing expenses to third-party traffic channels, (ii) an increase of RMB4.5 million in outsourced sales and marketing service fees to third parties, and partially offset by (iii) a decrease of RMB3.1 million in sales and marketing personnel costs and share-based compensation expenses
• General and administrative expenses decreased by 3.2% year over year to RMB111.0 million (US$15.8 million) for the third quarter of 2024, compared with RMB114.6 million for the same quarter of 2023. The year-over-year variance was due to (i) a decrease of RMB24.8 million in professional service fees, (ii) a decrease of RMB5.8 million in personnel costs and share-based compensation expenses, partially offset by (iii) an increase of RMB10.6 million in allowance for doubtful accounts, and (iv) an increase of RMB20.6 million impairment loss for intangible assets related to the acquisition of Shenzhen Cunzhen Qiushi Technology Co., Ltd. and its subsidiaries ("Shenlanbao"). On a quarter-over-quarter basis, general and administrative expenses increased by 18.1% from RMB94.0 million, due to (i) an increase of RMB20.6 million impairment loss for intangible assets related to the acquisition of Shenlanbao, (ii) an increase of RMB6.9 million in personnel costs and share-based compensation expenses, partially offset by (iii) a decrease of RMB6.8 million in professional service fees, and (iv) a decrease of RMB3.1 million allowance for doubtful accounts.
• Research and development expenses decreased by 28.4% year over year to RMB53.0 million (US$7.5 million) for the third quarter of 2024, compared with RMB73.9 million for the same period of 2023. The decrease was primarily due to a decrease of RMB18.9 million in personnel costs and share-based compensation expenses. On a quarter-over-quarter basis, research and development expenses remained stable.

Operating profit for the third quarter of 2024 was RMB26.5 million (US$3.8 million), as compared with an operating loss of RMB2.1 million for the third quarter of 2023 and an operating profit of RMB52.4 million for the second quarter of 2024.

Interest income for the third quarter of 2024 was RMB36.0 million (US$5.1 million), as compared with RMB32.9 million for the third quarter of 2023 and RMB37.5 million for the second quarter of 2024.

Income tax benefit for the third quarter of 2024 was RMB7.8 million (US$1.1 million), as compared with RMB1.5 million for the third quarter of 2023 and an income tax expense of RMB7.0 million for the second quarter of 2024.

Net profit attributable to the Company's ordinary shareholders for the third quarter of 2024 was RMB92.8 million (US$13.2 million), as compared with RMB36.7 million for the same period of 2023, and RMB88.3 million for the second quarter of 2024.

Adjusted net profit attributable to the Company's ordinary shareholders (non-GAAP⁽¹⁾) for the third quarter of 2024 was RMB126.0 million (US$18.0 million), as compared with RMB74.3 million for the same period of 2023, and RMB108.7 million for the second quarter of 2024. 

Cash position⁽²⁾

As of September 30, 2024, cash position of the Company was RMB3,440.1 million (US$490.2 million), as compared with RMB3,571.6 million as of December 31, 2023.

Share Repurchase Programs 

Pursuant to the share repurchase programs launched in September 2021, September 2022, September 2023 and September 2024, respectively, we had cumulatively repurchased approximately 50.9 million ADSs from the open market with cash for a total consideration of approximately US$102.3 million as of November 30, 2024.

Supplemental Information 

We organize and report our business in three operating segments:

• Insurance, which mainly includes Waterdrop Insurance Marketplace, Shenlanbao Insurance Marketplace and technical support service;
• Crowdfunding, which mainly includes Waterdrop Medical Crowdfunding; and
• Others, which mainly include Digital Clinical Trial Solution and other new initiatives.

The table below sets forth the segment operating results, with the nine-month comparative figures retrospectively adjusted to conform to this presentation.

Exchange Rate

This announcement contains translations of certain RMB amounts into U.S. dollars ("USD" or "US$") at specified rates solely for the convenience of the reader. Unless otherwise stated, all translations from RMB to USD were made at the rate of RMB7.0176 to US$1.00, the noon buying rate in effect on September 30, 2024 in the H.10 statistical release of the Federal Reserve Board. The Company makes no representation that the RMB or USD amounts referred could be converted into USD or RMB, as the case may be, at any particular rate or at all. For analytical presentation, all percentages are calculated using the numbers presented in the financial statements contained in this earnings release.

Non-GAAP Financial Measure

The Company uses non-GAAP financial measure, adjusted net profit attributable to our ordinary shareholders, in evaluating the Company's operating results and for financial and operational decision-making purposes. Adjusted net profit attributable to our ordinary shareholders represents net profit attributable to our ordinary shareholders excluding share-based compensation expense attributable to our ordinary shareholders, foreign currency exchange gain or losses, impairment of intangible assets acquired from business combination and related tax effects on non-GAAP adjustments

The non-GAAP financial measure is not presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP and may be different from non-GAAP methods of accounting and reporting used by other companies. The non-GAAP financial measure has limitations as analytical tools and when assessing the Company's operating performance, investors should not consider it in isolation, or as a substitute for net loss or other consolidated statements of comprehensive loss data prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The Company encourages investors and others to review its financial information in its entirety and not rely on a single financial measure. Investors are encouraged to review the Company's historical non-GAAP financial measure to the most directly comparable GAAP measure. Adjusted net profit attributable to our ordinary shareholders presented here may not be comparable to similarly titled measure presented by other companies. Other companies may calculate similarly titled measure differently, limiting its usefulness as a comparative measure to our data.

The Company mitigates these limitations by reconciling the non-GAAP financial measure to the most comparable U.S. GAAP performance measure, all of which should be considered when evaluating the Company's performance.

For more information on the non-GAAP financial measure, please see the table captioned "Reconciliation of GAAP and Non-GAAP Results" set forth at the end of this press release.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains statements that may constitute "forward-looking" statements pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "aims," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "likely to" and similar statements. Among other things, quotations in this announcement, contain forward-looking statements. Waterdrop may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its periodic reports to the SEC, in its annual report to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about Waterdrop's beliefs, plans and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement, including but not limited to the following: Waterdrop's mission, goals and strategies; Waterdrop's future business development, financial condition and results of operations; the expected growth of the insurance, medical crowdfunding and healthcare industry in China; Waterdrop's expectations regarding demand for and market acceptance of our products and services; Waterdrop's expectations regarding its relationships with consumers, insurance carriers and other partners; competition in the industry and relevant government policies and regulations relating to insurance, medical crowdfunding and healthcare industry. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in Waterdrop's filings with the SEC. All information provided in this press release is as of the date of this press release, and Waterdrop does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law.

Conference Call Information

Waterdrop's management team will hold a conference call on December 11, 2024 at 7:00 AM U.S. Eastern Time (8:00 PM Beijing/Hong Kong Time on the same day) to discuss the financial results. Dial-in details for the earnings conference call are as follows:

Participants can choose between the Chinese and the English interpretation lines. Please note that the English interpretation option will be in listen-only mode. Please dial in 15 minutes before the call is scheduled to begin and provide the Elite Entry Number to join the call.

Telephone replays will be accessible two hours after the conclusion of the conference call until December 18, 2024 by dialing the following numbers:

A live and archived webcast of the conference call will also be available at the Company's investor relations website at http://ir.waterdrop-inc.com/.

About Waterdrop Inc.

Waterdrop Inc. (NYSE: WDH) is a leading technology platform dedicated to insurance and healthcare service with a positive social impact. Founded in 2016, with the comprehensive coverage of Waterdrop Insurance Marketplace and Waterdrop Medical Crowdfunding, Waterdrop aims to bring insurance and healthcare service to billions through technology. For more information, please visit www.waterdrop-inc.com.

For investor inquiries, please contact

Waterdrop Inc.
IR@shuidi-inc.com