FAST NEWS: Yidu Tech’s Loss Narrows on Lower Marketing Costs

The latest: Big data medical company Yidu Tech Inc. (2158.HK) reported on Friday its net loss narrowed by 19.7% to 354 million yuan ($49.5 million) in the first half of its fiscal year through September.

Looking up: The company’s selling and marketing expenses decreased significantly by 46.8% to 124 million yuan, primarily due to a drop in the size of its sales and marketing team, as well as lower promotional and advertising spending.

Take Note: Revenue from the company’s life sciences and health management platforms increased by 0.6% and 7%, respectively. But that was not enough to offset a 21.5% decline in revenue from its big data platform, resulting in an overall 5.5% revenue decline to 474 million yuan for the six-month period.

Digging Deeper: Yidu was listed in Hong Kong last year, banking on the then-hot “Internet+Medical” concept to lure investors. Its shares once soared as much as 165% above their IPO price. But they have plunged more than 92% from a peak of HK$68.80 in July last year as investors worried about potential negative impact on the company from China’s growing focus on data security and personal information protection. The company’s revenue has grown steadily since its inception in 2014, even though Yidu has yet to make a profit. Its flagship product, YiduCore, has processed and analyzed more than 3 billion medical records from more than 700 million patients as of the end of September this year. The company’s business potential is expected to remain strong as China’s population ages and the government tries to give people better access to high quality healthcare services.

Market Reaction: Yidu shares dipped on Monday morning and closed down 4.4% at HK$4.98 by the midday break. The stock now trades at the lower end of its 52-week range.

Translation by Jony Ho

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