On March 13th, Qifu Technology (formerly known as 360 Data Science and Technology, Nasdaq: QFIN; 03660. HK), a financial technology company listed on both the US and Hong Kong stock markets, announced its financial performance for the fourth quarter and full year of 2023, as well as a new plan for semi annual dividends and share repurchases.
According to the financial report, Qifu Technology achieved a net income of 4.496 billion yuan in the fourth quarter, an increase of 15.08% year-on-year; Shareholders of the company should account for 1.112 billion yuan in net profit, a year-on-year increase of 27.49%; The net profit attributable to shareholders of the company under non GAAP accounting standards was RMB 1.154 billion, a year-on-year increase of 25.01%.
In 2023, Qifu Technology achieved a net income of 16.29 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 1.59%; Shareholders of the company should account for a net profit of 4.285 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6.49%; The net profit attributable to shareholders of the company under non GAAP accounting standards was 4.471 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.85%.
In terms of operational data, in the fourth quarter, the total matching and initiated loan scale of Qifu Technology reached 119.02 billion yuan, an increase of 13.8% compared to the same period in 2022, which was 104.572 billion yuan.
In 2023, the total loan matching and initiation scale of Qifu Technology was RMB 475.831 billion, an increase of 15.4% from RMB 412.361 billion in 2022; The loan matching scale under the platform service is 271.020 billion yuan, an increase of 17.3% from 231.131 billion yuan in 2022; As of December 31, 2023, the total outstanding balance of loans reached RMB 186.478 billion, an increase of 14.1% from RMB 163.465 billion as of December 31, 2022.
As of December 31, 2023, the Qifu Technology platform has connected a total of 157 financial institution partners and 235.4 million consumers with potential credit needs, an increase of 12.8% compared to the previous year's 208.7 million; The cumulative number of users with approved credit limits is 51 million, an increase of 14.4% compared to the previous year's 45 million; The cumulative number of borrowers who have successfully withdrawn funds (including duplicate borrowers) is 30.4 million, an increase of 12.7% compared to the previous year's 27 million.
In addition, Qifu Technology's loan repayment volume in the fourth quarter was 90.8%; The total amount of re lending in 2023 was 91.6%, and in 2022 it was 88.7%. As of December 31, 2023, the overdue rate of Qifu Technology for over 90 days was 2.35%, an increase of 0.53 percentage points from the end of the previous quarter.
Credit driven service revenue increased year-on-year throughout the year, while platform service revenue decreased year-on-year
From the perspective of income structure, Qifu Technology's revenue mainly comes from credit driven service revenue and platform service revenue.
The financial report shows that in 2023, Qifu Technology's credit driven service revenue was 11.7386 billion yuan, and in 2022 it was 11.5863 billion yuan.
Among them, the loan matching and service fees under the heavy capital model were 1.667 billion yuan, compared to 2.086 billion yuan in 2022. The year-on-year decrease was mainly due to the reduction in the scale of heavy capital loan matching and the shortening of effective loan terms; The financing income was 5.11 billion yuan, compared to 3.488 billion yuan in 2022, with a year-on-year increase mainly due to an increase in the average on balance sheet loan balance; The income from the release of guaranteed liabilities was 4.746 billion yuan, compared to 5.899 billion yuan in 2022. The year-on-year decrease was mainly due to the decrease in the average balance of off balance sheet heavy capital loans during the period; The other service fees were 216 million yuan, compared to 113 million yuan in 2022, with a year-on-year increase mainly due to an increase in late fees under the heavy capital model.
In 2023, Qifu Technology's platform service revenue was 4.551 billion yuan, and in 2022 it was 4.968 billion yuan.
Among them, under the light capital model, Qifu Technology's loan matching and service fees were 3.214 billion yuan, compared to 4.125 billion yuan in 2022. The year-on-year decrease was mainly due to the reduction in loan matching scale and shortened effective loan terms under the light capital model; The referral service fee was 950 million yuan, compared to 561 million yuan in 2022, with a year-on-year increase mainly due to the increase in loan matching scale through the Intelligent Credit Engine (ICE); The other service fees were 388 million yuan, compared to 282 million yuan in 2022, with a year-on-year increase mainly due to late fees and product optimization.
Announce a new $350 million share repurchase plan
According to Wu Haisheng, CEO and Director of Qifu Technology, approximately 57% of the matching loan scale in 2023 was provided through light capital models, ICE, and other technological solutions. The powerful contribution of services that do not bear credit risks helps companies effectively mitigate several risks in adverse environments. By optimizing asset distribution efficiency, the company has also increased the overall return on asset packages. In 2023, the company will further expand diversified customer acquisition channels and establish a strong embedded financial cooperation with the head Internet traffic platform to reduce customer acquisition costs while strengthening the coverage of target customer groups.
Zheng Yan, Chief Risk Officer of Qifu Technology, stated that among the key leading indicators, the first day overdue rate in the fourth quarter was 5.0%, and the 30 day recovery rate was 84.9%. The company has reduced its exposure to high-risk, long-term restricted loans and further reduced overall risk by increasing the proportion of services that do not bear credit risk. Since 2024, these measures have begun to have a positive impact on risk indicators. The company expects the risk indicators to gradually improve this year.
Qifu Technology's financial report also disclosed a new plan for a $350 million share buyback in 2024. On March 12, 2024, the board of directors of Qifu Technology approved a new share repurchase plan, allowing the company to repurchase up to $350 million worth of American Depositary Shares or Class A common shares within the next 12 months from April 1.
According to the official website, Qifu Technology (formerly 360 Digital Science) was founded in July 2016 and incubated in the Internet security company 360 Group. In February 2023, the 360 Digital Science brand was renamed Qifu Technology. At present, our products include 360 IOUs and 360 Turnaround. On December 14, 2018 Eastern Time, Qifu Technology successfully listed on NASDAQ in the United States; On November 29, 2022, Qifu Technology was officially listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.