Full Press Release Details
China Jo-Jo Drugstores Reports Fiscal Year 2024
HANGZHOU, China, July 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ --
China Jo-Jo Drugstores, Inc. (Nasdaq: CJJD) ("Jo-Jo Drugstores" or the "Company"), a leading online
and offline retailer, wholesale distributor of pharmaceutical and other healthcare products and healthcare provider in China, today announced
its financial results for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024.
Mr. Lei Liu, Chairman and CEO of Jo-Jo Drugstores,
commented, "We are pleased to present our financial performance for fiscal year 2024, which reflects our commitment to maintaining
a resilient business model in a dynamic market. We achieved a significant 42.1% revenue growth in our wholesale business, a result of
our dedicated efforts in targeting wholesale buyers with competitively priced product offerings, and leveraging modern wholesale platforms
to boost sales. We believe this strategy will benefit us for long-term and sustainable growth. Our dedication to high-quality services
and products remains strong. By adopting agile product and pricing strategies, we have successfully navigated a competitive landscape
in China's healthcare market. Looking ahead, we will keep strengthening our competitive advantages to differentiate our business
and deliver outstanding results. We plan to actively seek as great growth potential opportunities as possible to strengthen our business,
improve our customer experience, and expand our product portfolio to meet evolving customer needs. We will also continue to seize opportunities
to facilitate market expansion and remain focused on gaining efficiencies and controlling costs to achieve the accelerated growth. We
are deeply committed to contributing to China's healthcare market and communities we support, and we will continue to create greater
value for our shareholders, ensuring that our contributions benefit all our shareholders."
Fiscal Year 2024 Financial Highlights
| For the Year Ended March 31, | ||||||||||||
| ($ millions, except per share data) | 2024 | 2023 | % Change | |||||||||
| Revenue | 154.54 | 148.81 | 3.8 | % | ||||||||
| Retail drugstores | 75.68 | 83.35 | (9.2 | )% | ||||||||
| Online pharmacy | 31.86 | 32.38 | (1.6 | )% | ||||||||
| Wholesale | 47.00 | 33.08 | 42.1 | % | ||||||||
| Gross profit | 31.11 | 34.28 | (9.3 | )% | ||||||||
| Gross margin | 20.1 | % | 23.0 | % | (2.9 | )pp | ||||||
| Loss from operations | (3.53 | ) | (20.93 | ) | 83.1 | % | ||||||
| Net loss | (4.23 | ) | (21.14 | ) | 80.0 | % | ||||||
| Loss per share | (2.93 | ) | (41.46 | ) | 92.9 | % |
Fiscal Year 2024 Financial Results
Revenue increased by $5.73 million, or 3.8%, to
$154.54 million for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024, from $148.81 million for the same period of last year.
| For the Year Ended March 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| ($ millions) | Revenue | Cost of Goods | Average Gross Margin | Revenue | Cost of Goods | Average Gross Margin | ||||||||||||||||||
| Retail drugstores | 75.68 | 53.06 | 29.9 | % | 83.35 | 56.55 | 32.2 | % | ||||||||||||||||
| Online pharmacy | 31.86 | 28.24 | 11.3 | % | 32.38 | 28.51 | 12.0 | % | ||||||||||||||||
| Wholesale | 47.00 | 42.13 | 10.4 | % | 33.08 | 29.47 | 10.9 | % | ||||||||||||||||
| Total | 154.54 | 123.43 | 20.1 | % | 148.81 | 114.53 | 23.0 | % |
Revenue from the retail drugstores business decreased
by $7.67 million, or 9.2%, to $75.68 million for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024, from $83.35 million for the same period of last
year. After excluding the impact of exchange rate fluctuation, the actual retail drugstores sales decreased by 5.0%. The decrease in its
retail drugstore sales is primarily due to local consumption cutback, extremely competitive market and the temporary surge of sale in
the second half of fiscal 2023, which is nonrecurring and is due to Chinese government's sanction lift on COVID-19.
Revenue from the online pharmacy business decreased
by $0.53 million, or 1.6%, to $31.86 million for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024, from $32.38 million for the same period of last
year. The decrease was primarily caused by a decrease in sales via e-commerce platforms such as JD and Pinduoduo. Because the online prices
are transparent, to be competitive in online sales, the Company has to keep low prices. More competitors came into the online retail sales
market. As the Company does not have dominating power such as lowest prices or exclusive products, it may not be able to improve its sales
significantly in the near future.
Revenue from the wholesale business increased
by $13.93 million, or 42.1%, to $47.00 million for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024, from $33.08 million for the same period of last
year. In the year ended March 31, 2024, Online platforms such as Pharmacist Help, Yiyao Help and Yao Help have become popular ways to
transact medical products by bulk. The platforms attract a plenty of buyers and sellers, so both parties have extended opportunities to
expose themselves. The Company has spent significant efforts in exploring these buyers with certain products at reasonable prices as a
result, the Company is able to attract more buyers and promote its sales. The Company believes that selling on the modern wholesale platform
may be a new growth point. Therefore, the Company is actively looking for potential acquisition targets with trading platform to strengthen
its wholesale business.
Gross profit and gross margin
Total cost of goods sold increased by $8.90 million,
or 7.8%, to $123.43 million for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024, from $114.53 million for the same period of last year. Gross profit
decreased by $3.17 million, or 9.3%, to $31.11 million for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024 from $34.28 million for the same period
of last year. Overall gross margin decreased by 2.9 percentage points to 20.1% for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024, from 23.0% for
the same period of last year, due to lower retail drugstores profit margins.
Gross margins for retail drugstores, online pharmacy
and wholesale were 29.9%, 11.3%, and 10.4%, respectively, for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024, compared to gross margins for retail
drugstores, online pharmacy and wholesale of 32.2%, 12.0%, and 10.9%, respectively, for the same period of last year.
Loss from operations
Sales and marketing expenses decreased by $1.79
million, or 6.1%, to $27.39 million for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024 from $29.18 million for the same period of last year. The
decrease in selling expenses was primarily due to a decrease in expense related to Normal Nucleic Acid Testing ("NNAT") as
it is no longer requested by local government and a decrease in fee charged by distribution channels resulting from the decrease in retail
drugstores and online pharmacy sales.
General and administrative expenses decreased
by $8.41 million, or 53.7%, to $7.26 million for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024 from $15.67 million for the same period of last
year. The decrease in general and administrative expenses was primarily due to the decrease in bad debt expense. Such expenses as a percentage
of revenue decreased to 4.7% from 10.5% for the same period a year ago. In the year ended March 31, 2024, the Company recorded a reduction
of $0.22 million in the allowance account for bad debts as compared to the increase of $7.58 million in the allowance account for bad
Loss from operations was $3.53 million for the
fiscal year ended March 31, 2024, compared to $20.93 million for the same period of last year. Operating margin was (2.3)% and (14.1)%
for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
Net loss was $4.23 million, or $2.93 per basic
and diluted share for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024, compared to net loss of $21.14 million, or $41.46 per basic and diluted share
for the same period of last year.
As of March 31, 2024, the Company had cash of
$20.15 million, compared to $18.81 million as of March 31, 2023. Net cash used in operating activities was $3.16 million for the fiscal
year ended March 31, 2024, compared to $3.28 million for the same period of last year. The change is primarily attributable to an increase
in net income of $16.90 million, an increase in accounts receivable of $0.73 million, an increase in cash provided by accounts payable
of $4.24 million and an increase in cash provided by other payables and accrued liabilities of $2.21 million, offset by a decrease in
bad debt direct write-off and provision of $6.79 million, a decrease in inventories and biological assets of $1.18 million and a decrease
in stock compensation of $10.36 million. Net cash used in investing activities was $2.04 million for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024,
compared to $0.32 million for the same period of last year. The change is primarily attributable to investment in a joint venture and
purchases of long-term assets. Net cash provided by financing activities was $8.00 million for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024, compared
to $2.37 million for the same period of last year. The change is primarily due to notes payable and proceeds from short-term bank loan.
About China Jo-Jo Drugstores, Inc.
China Jo-Jo Drugstores, Inc. ("Jo-Jo Drugstores"
or the "Company"), is a leading online and offline retailer and wholesale distributor of pharmaceutical and other healthcare
products and a provider of healthcare services in China. Jo-Jo Drugstores currently operates an online pharmacy and retail drugstores
with licensed doctors on site for consultation, examination and treatment of common ailments at scheduled hours. It is also a wholesale
distributor of products similar to those carried in its pharmacies. For more information about the Company, please visit http://jiuzhou360.com.
The Company routinely posts important information on its website.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains information about
the Company's view of its future expectations, plans and prospects that constitute forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ
materially from historical results or those indicated by these forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors including,
but not limited to, risks and uncertainties associated with its ability to raise additional funding, its ability to maintain and grow
its business, variability of operating results, its ability to maintain and enhance its brand, its development and introduction of new
products and services, the successful integration of acquired companies, technologies and assets into its portfolio of products and services,
marketing and other business development initiatives, competition in the industry, general government regulation, economic conditions,
dependence on key personnel, the ability to attract, hire and retain personnel who possess the technical skills and experience necessary
to meet the requirements of its clients, and its ability to protect its intellectual property. The Company's encourages you to review
other factors that may affect its future results in the Company's annual reports and in its other filings with the Securities and Exchange
For more information, please contact:
Chief Financial Officer
Investor Relations Contact: