2021-05-24
New recruits for e-commerce stocks in TPEx. 91APP*-KY (stock code 6741) will hold its first online listing ceremony tomorrow (5/25) at 9 am, becoming the first Taiwanese company to be listed virtually. The 91APP*-KY online listing ceremony opened to all investors to watch online. Lee Ai-Ling, general manager of TPEx, and Huang Wei-Cheng, general manager of the lead advisory recommending securities firm – Yuanta Securities, also participated virtually to celebrate the listing of 91APP*-KY. 91APP*-KY officially announced the official listing of the company (with the par value of the company’s common stock at NT$5 per share), becoming the first listed SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) company. Institutional investors believe that 91APP*-KY is the most impressive newly listed e-commerce stock in recent years, with a market cap of more than NT$10 billion. Compared with world-class SaaS service providers such as Salesforce and Adobe, its growth potential is quite promising.
Ho Ying-Chi, Chairman of 91APP, has noted that 91APP*-KY has achieved three “firsts” in the listing process: it’s the first retail technology company with an Online-Merger-Offline (OMO) as the main axis, the first SaaS company, and the first company listing to be held online. 91APP represents a new age of digital data transfer and cutting-edge OMO technology. 91APP has answered the call of a new era. Confronting the epidemic and challenges with the market, the quick response of 91APP is the key.
Yang Ming-Fang, general manager of 91APP, pointed out that 91APP became the first domestic company to be listed online during the epidemic. This is entirely in line with 91APP’s spirit of being SaaS-based; facing difficulties and bravely pursuing innovation and breakthroughs.
In response to the epidemic, 91APP has implemented a policy of WFH (Work From Home). According to Yang Ming-Fang, over the past week, various meetings have been conducted online. Contact activities with customers have been arranged. All customer service operations utilizing telephone, Email, and Online Chat have continued unabated. With the efforts of all of our colleagues, the company has managed to maintain normal operations. This also represents 91APP’s professional attitude and spirit of responding quickly to any challenge.
Currently, Taiwan is facing the severe impact of the Covid 19 epidemic. 91APP is presently assisting several brick and mortar retailers to make good use of the OMO model to jointly fight the epidemic; such as providing Covid 19 Business Toolkit (for existing customers) as well as epidemic prevention projects and other solutions. We aim to integrate offline resources into applications, strengthen online e-commerce operations, and assist retail brands in these difficult times. The epidemic has changed people’s lifestyles. On the consumer side, 91APP, and online and offline partners have jointly assisted various retail brands (covering all types of basic commodities) with e-commerce services to provide consumers with a secure and convenient shopping experience during these trying times.
In the past, it was very difficult for software companies to establish an IPO in Taiwan. 91APP became the first listed SaaS provider, dissolving the myth that the market in Taiwan is too small to cultivate large-scale software companies. In this regard, Ho Ying-Chi further pointed out that Taiwan not only boasts TSMC and MediaTek, but also many other excellent software talents. In the future, 91APP will contribute its efforts to foster more SaaS companies in order to further advance the capital market.
Since 2016, 91APP’s GMV (Gross Merchandise Volume) and revenue have shown positive growth for five consecutive years. In 2020, the GMV has exceeded NT$13 billion, which is a 30% increase year-over-year. The revenue scale reached NT$875 million, an increase of 31% year -over-year. The proportion of brick and mortar retailers’ contributions continued to grow, accounting for more than half of the revenue; the net profit after tax was NT$207 million, an increase of 102% year-over-year, and the EPS was NT$1.92. As the scale of operations expands in the future, the company is expected to continue to increase in profitability.
Looking forward to the future, Ho Ying-Chi stated that 91APP will continue to secure a foothold in Taiwan and leverage the power of the capital market to gather more outstanding talent, expand OMO services, and accelerate product development. According to Ho Ying-Chi, “Maintaining a base in Taiwan, looking internationally, and winning more overseas markets. This is the most important aim of the 91APP listing.”