Leju Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2015 Results

BEIJING, March 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Leju Holdings Limited ("Leju" or the "Company") (NYSE: LEJU), a leading online-to-offline ("O2O") real estate services provider in China, today announced its unaudited financial results for the fiscal quarter and full year ended December 31, 2015.

Fourth Quarter 2015 Financial Highlights

• Total revenues increased by 1% year-on-year to $173.4 million
  • Revenues from e-commerce services increased by 4% year-on-year to $129.7 million
  • Revenues from online advertising services decreased by 15% year-on-year to $37.1 million
  • Revenues from listing services increased by 87% year-on-year to $6.6 million
• Non-GAAP[1] income from operations decreased by 41% year-on-year to $21.5 million
• Non-GAAP net income attributable to Leju shareholders decreased by 42% year-on-year to $18.1 million, or $0.13 per diluted American depositary share ("ADS")

Full Year 2015 Financial Highlights

• Total revenues increased by 16% year-on-year to $575.8 million
  • Revenues from e-commerce services increased by 29% year-on-year to $420.6 million
  • Revenues from online advertising services decreased by 13% year-on-year to $134.2 million
  • Revenues from listing services increased by 47% year-on-year to $21.0 million
• Non-GAAP income from operations decreased by 36% year-on-year to $68.9 million
• Non-GAAP net income attributable to Leju shareholders decreased by 37% year-on-year to $57.4 million, or $0.42 per diluted ADS

"We faced a continuously changing market and competitive landscape in 2015. Specifically, in the fourth quarter we experienced some unexpected changes to our e-commerce project pipeline," said Mr. Geoffrey He, Leju's chief executive officer. "However, we remained focused on our strategy of providing media, marketing and e-commerce platforms and maintained our market leading position and profitability in 2015. We launched innovative products for various stages of the home purchasing and renovating process to achieve a better marketing impact and improve overall user experience. In 2016 we plan to strengthen our leadership and continue to innovate to solidify the foundation for long term growth across all of our business lines."

Fourth Quarter 2015 Results

Total revenues were $173.4 million, an increase of 1% from $171.8 million for the same quarter of 2014, mainly driven by growth of revenues from e-commerce services and listing services, partially offset by a decrease in revenue from online advertising services.

Revenues from e-commerce services were $129.7 million, an increase of 4% from $124.5 million for the same quarter of 2014, primarily due to an increase in the average price per discount coupon redeemed, partially offset by a decrease in the number of discount coupons redeemed.

Revenues from online advertising services were $37.1 million, a decrease of 15% from $43.8 million for the same quarter of 2014, primarily due to a decrease in property developers' online advertising demand.

Revenues from listing services were $6.6 million, an increase of 87% from $3.5 million for the same quarter of 2014, primarily due to growth in the number of paying agents.

Cost of revenues was $14.5 million, relatively flat compared to $14.3 million for the same quarter of 2014.

Selling, general and administrative expenses were $144.2 million, an increase of 12% from $128.8 million for the same quarter of 2014, primarily due to increased marketing expenses related to the Company's e-commerce business and the increasingly intense market competition.

Income from operations was $15.4 million, a decrease of 47% from $29.1 million for the same quarter of 2014. Non-GAAP income from operations was $21.5 million, a decrease of 41% from $36.8 million for the same quarter of 2014.

Net income was $12.8 million, a decrease of 44% from $22.9 million for the same quarter of 2014. Non-GAAP net income was $18.2 million, a decrease of 41% from $31.0 million for the same quarter of 2014.

Net income attributable to Leju shareholders was $12.8 million, or $0.09 per diluted ADS, a decrease of 45% from $23.2 million, or $0.17 per diluted ADS, for the same quarter of 2014. Non-GAAP net income attributable to Leju shareholders was $18.1 million, or $0.13 per diluted ADS, a decrease of 42% from $31.3 million, or $0.23 per diluted ADS, for the same quarter of 2014.

Full Year 2015 Results

Total revenues were $575.8 million, an increase of 16% from $496.0 million for 2014, mainly driven by growth of revenues from e-commerce and listing services, partially offset by a decrease in revenue from online advertising services.

Revenues from e-commerce services were $420.6 million, an increase of 29% from $326.7 million for 2014, primarily due to an increase in the average price per discount coupon redeemed, partially offset by a decrease in the number of discount coupons redeemed.

Revenues from online advertising services were $134.2 million, a decrease of 13% from $155.0 million for 2014, primarily due to a decrease in property developers' online advertising demand.

Revenues from listing services were $21.0 million, an increase of 47% from $14.3 million for 2014, primarily due to growth in secondary home sales.

Cost of revenues was $60.3 million, an increase of 18% from $51.1 million for 2014, primarily due to increased staff costs of the editorial department as a result of increased headcount and increased amortization expenses of intangible assets consisting of exclusive rights.

Selling, general and administrative expenses were $475.4 million, an increase of 30% from $366.3 million for 2014, primarily due to increased marketing expenses related to the growth of the Company's e-commerce business and the increasingly intense market competition.

Income from operations was $43.6 million, a decrease of 46% from $81.1 million for 2014. Non-GAAP income from operations was $68.9 million, a decrease of 36% from $107.0 million for 2014.

Net income was $34.8 million, a decrease of 48% from $66.7 million for 2014. Non-GAAP net income was $56.9 million, a decrease of 37% from $90.9 million for 2014.

Net income attributable to Leju shareholders was $35.3 million, or $0.26 per diluted ADS, a decrease of 47% from $66.5 million, or $0.50 per diluted ADS, for 2014. Non-GAAP net income attributable to Leju shareholders was $57.4 million, or $0.42 per diluted ADS, a decrease of 37% from $90.7 million, or $0.68 per diluted ADS, for 2014.

Cash Flow

As of December 31, 2015, the Company's cash and cash equivalents balance was $260.3 million.

Fourth quarter 2015 net cash provided by operating activities was $16.9 million, mainly attributable to non-GAAP net income of $18.2 million, a decrease in amounts due from related parties of $42.9 million, an increase in income tax payable and other tax payable of $10.9 million, partially offset by an increase in customer deposits of $55.2 million. Net cash used in investing activities was $0.8 million, mainly comprised of payments of $0.8 million for property, plant and equipment. Net cash used in financing activities was $44.2 million, mainly comprised of payments of $42.5 million to repay loans to related parties, and $1.8 million to acquire non-controlling interests, which were made in 2014.

Business Outlook

The Company estimates that its fiscal 2016 total revenues will be approximately $660 million to $690 million, which would represent an increase of approximately 15% to 20% from $575.8 million in 2015. This forecast reflects the Company's current and preliminary view, which is subject to change.

Conference Call Information

Leju's management will host an earnings conference call on March 15, 2016 at 7 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time (7 p.m. Beijing/Hong Kong time).

Dial-in details for the earnings conference call are as follows:

Please dial in 10 minutes before the call is scheduled to begin and provide the passcode to join the call. The passcode is "Leju earnings call."

A replay of the conference call may be accessed by phone at the following number until March 21, 2016:

Additionally, a live and archived webcast will be available at http://ir.leju.com.

About Leju

Leju Holdings Limited ("Leju") (NYSE: LEJU) is a leading online-to-offline, or O2O, real estate services provider in China, offering real estate e-commerce, online advertising and online listing services. Leju's integrated online platform comprises various mobile applications along with local websites covering more than 260 cities, enhanced by complementary offline services to facilitate residential property transactions. In addition to the Company's own websites, Leju operates the real estate and home furnishing websites of SINA Corporation, and maintains a strategic partnership with Tencent Holdings Limited. For more information about Leju, please visit http://ir.leju.com.

Safe Harbor: Forward-Looking Statements

This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "target," "going forward," "outlook" and similar statements. Leju may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its reports filed or furnished with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 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 Leju's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements that involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained, either expressly or impliedly, in any of the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to, fluctuations in China's real estate market; the highly regulated nature of, and government measures affecting, the real estate and internet industries in China; Leju's ability to compete successfully against current and future competitors; its ability to continue to develop and expand its content, service offerings and features, and to develop or incorporate the technologies that support them; its limited operating history and lack of experience as a stand-alone public company, given its recent carve-out from E-House and prior reliance on E-House for various corporate services; its reliance on SINA, Baidu and others with which it has developed, or may develop in the future, strategic partnerships; substantial revenue contribution from a limited number of real estate markets; complexities resulting from its ongoing relationships with E-House, due to E-House's controlling interest in Leju; and relevant government policies and regulations relating to the corporate structure, business and industry of Leju. Further information regarding these and other risks, uncertainties or factors is included in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All information provided in this press release is current as of the date of the press release, and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable law.

About Non-GAAP Financial Measures

To supplement Leju's consolidated financial results presented in accordance with United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP"), Leju uses in this press release the following non-GAAP financial measures: (1) income (loss) from operations, (2) net income (loss), (3) net income (loss) attributable to Leju shareholders, (4) net income (loss) attributable to Leju shareholders per basic ADS, and (5) net income (loss) attributable to Leju shareholders per diluted ADS, each of which excludes share-based compensation expense and amortization of intangible assets resulting from business acquisitions. The presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP. For more information on these non-GAAP financial measures, please see the table captioned "Unaudited Reconciliation of GAAP and Non-GAAP Results" set forth at the end of this press release.

Leju believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide meaningful supplemental information to investors regarding its operating performance by excluding share-based compensation expense, and amortization of intangible assets resulting from business acquisitions, which may not be indicative of Leju's operating performance. These non-GAAP financial measures also facilitate management's internal comparisons to Leju's historical performance and assist its financial and operational decision making. A limitation of using these non-GAAP financial measures is that share-based compensation expense and amortization of intangible assets resulting from business acquisitions may continue to exist in Leju's business for the foreseeable future. Management compensates for these limitations by providing specific information regarding the GAAP amounts excluded from each non-GAAP measure. The accompanying tables provide more details on the reconciliation between non-GAAP financial measures and their most comparable GAAP financial measures.

For investor and media inquiries please contact:

Ms. Melody Liu
Leju Holdings Limited
Phone: +86 (10) 5895-1062
E-mail: ir@leju.com

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