NIU - Is Niu Technologies Ready To Charge Ahead Again? | Benzinga
Key Takeaways:
- Niu Technologies said its unit sales at home and abroad rose more than 30% in the first quarter, following a tough 2023 when its revenue fell 16%
- The electric scooter maker’s shares jumped 34% from an all-time low in the week following the announcement
By Edith Terry
Niu Technologies (NASDAQ: NIU) has had some rough years since the heady days of its Nasdaq listing in October 2018. In 2017, the company, whose name means "bull,” was China’s top seller of lithium-ion battery powered e-scooters, with 26% of the market by unit sales and 39.5% by value. It was third in Europe as well, with 11.1% of the market by unit sales. Its sales zoomed over the next few years, rising from 189,467 e-scooters in 2017 to over 1 million in 2021.
But the growth began to slow after that and slipped into reverse, even as expansion at its factory in the city of Changzhou boosted its annual capacity to 2 million scooters. In 2023, it was back to 710,000 in annual unit sales, down 15% from 2022, as the broader market for e-scooters fell, partly as a result of price increases for battery packs as lithium prices soared. Lithium prices began to retreat in the second half of 2023, but Niu was still forced to shutter 500 stores, reducing its network to 2,856 domestic outlets by the end of last year.
So, the company’s report last week of a sharp bounce-back in first quarter sales, both at home and overseas, sparked a 34% rally for its shares in the following days, providing a much-needed jumpstart to its sputtering story. Niu said its unit sales in China rose 35% year-on-year in the first quarter to 110,115 units, while overseas sales, mostly in Europe, powered ahead by 48% to 19,024 units.
Niu said that its premium NXT e-bike, released in February, was responsible for 26% of its domestic sales during the quarter. Within two ...