ETMall, a subsidiary of Eastern Media International Corporation (2614), achieved a record-breaking performance in March. The single-month consolidate revenue of Strawberrynet reached NT$2.2, showing an annual growth rate of 15%, and a profit of NT$140 million, achieving an annual growth rate of 46%. Consolidated revenue for the first quarter was NT$6.87 billion, up 24% from the same period last year, setting a new record high for the same period in the previous years! In the first quarter, net income after tax was NT$409 million, with the after-tax earnings per share (EPS) at NT$4, showing a significant increase of 67% over last year. In addition to the continuous steady growth trend since last year, the company also outperformed the e-commerce industry peers as a whole. ETMall is planning to be publicly listed by 2023-2024. Last year’s EPS of NT$14.11 achieved a record high, and this year’s EPS will try to reach NT$16. Since the second quarter of 2019, the company has been distributing dividends quarter by quarter, and had distributed cash dividends of NT$12 for the whole year of 2020. This year’s first quarter earnings are at a record high, and the first quarter dividend distribution will be better than the same period last year. Looking ahead, Chairman Gary Wang of ETMall said that he will continue to develop and strengthen self-operated products and e-commerce channels, and will pay dividends every quarter this year depending on the growth of operating profits.
ETMall has delivered impressive results in the first quarter of 2021 already because of our efforts facing the pandemic, where we have always been ready to meet the needs of consumers and adjust our strategies. Starting in 2020, we introduced different marketing campaigns every month to meet the changing times with innovation. Furthermore, we will also import a large number of Japanese and Korean products to meet the needs of consumers who cannot go abroad to shop.
Facing the impact of the pandemic on Taiwan’s economy, ETMall has taken the lead in joining the national agricultural and fishery products sales team, assuming the role of a sales platform for Taiwan’s specialty agricultural produce. Since the launch of the “Eastern Farm” program, ETMall has collaborated with 13 central and local government leaders, and has been recognized for its outstanding sales performance.
As a market leader, ETMall launched the “ET coins” in August 2018, and has issued 13.5 billion ET coins to consumers in Taiwan to date, with VIP members holding up to 43% of ET coins. During this year’s Spring Festival, ETMall launched the “ET Coin Lottery” lucky draw where prizes of up to NT$1 million were up for grabs every day. In just 21 days, it received the attention and participation of over 90,000 people, becoming a much talked-about event. Compared to last December’s ET coin car raffle and this January’s iPhone draw, which attracted more than 20,000 participants respectively, this top-trending campaign saw the number of participants increase 4.5 times. The “ET Coin Lottery” campaign even inspired other e-commerce companies to follow suit, showing that ET coins have gradually become a core tool for securing ETMall’s VIP membership.
In addition, the continuous expansion of self-operated products is also an crucial reason for ETMall’s performance growth. Gary Wang, Chairman of ETMall, said that five years ago, we started to develop our self-operated products, including toilet paper, laundry detergent, and other household products, as well as Natural Beauty’s cosmetics and skincare products. Currently, self-operated products account for 30% of revenue, and we aim to increase the percentage of revenue to 50% by 2022.
Looking ahead, ETMall’s new channel “Connected Network” has generated NT$750 million in revenue last year, with an annual growth rate of 88%; it achieved an accumulated revenue of NT$310 million from January to March this year, an increase of 149.6% over the same period last year. Connected Network has turbo-charged ETMall’s revenue.
In addition to a stable sales growth, ETMall’s “fast logistics” will also be one of the key points of operation this year, said Chairman Gary Wang. The new “Yangmei Youshi Logistics Center” newly constructed by ETMall is scheduled to open in August this year. The center’s base area is about 30,790 square meters, and it is near National Freeway 1, Provincial Highway 66, and Provincial Highway 1. The convenience in transportation will enhance the service capacity of the logistics and distribution services across Taiwan and increase the satisfaction of our members.