So-Young International Inc. (NASDAQ:SY) Q1 2023 Earnings Conference Call May 22, 2023 7:30 AM ET
Company Participants
Vivian Xu - IR
Xing Jin - Co-Founder, Chairman & CEO
Hui Zhao - CFO
Conference Call Participants
Thomas Chong - Jefferies
Nelson Cheung - Citi
Chloe Wei - CICC
Jessie Xu - Credit Suisse
Operator
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by for So-Young's First Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] As a reminder, today's conference call is being recorded.
I would now like to turn the meeting over to your host for today's call, Ms. Vivian Xu. Please proceed Ms. Xu.
Vivian Xu
Thank you, Operator, and thank you everyone for joining So-Young's first quarter 2023 earnings conference call.
Please note that the discussion today will contain forward-looking statements made under the Safe Harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities and the Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from our current expectations.
Potential risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to those outlined in our public filings with the SEC, including our annual report on Form 20F. So-Young does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required under applicable law.
Joining today on the call is Mr. Xing Jin, our Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO and Mr. Nick Zhao, CFO.
At this time, I would like to turn the call over to Mr. Xing Jin.
Xing Jin
Hello everyone. Thank you for joining So-Young's first quarter 2023 earnings call. We kicked off 2023 with a strong financial performance as the effects of the pandemic recede and the gradual recovery of medical aesthetics industry gains momentum.
Total revenue for the first quarter reached RMB310 million, a year-on-year increase of 3% and exceeding the high-end of our previous guidance range. Strict cost control measures and operational efficiency improvements resulted in a 15% year-on-year decrease in operating expenses, while our non-GAAP net loss attributable to So-Young International, Inc. narrowed significantly, decreasing by 94% year-on-year to RMB2.75 million.
I will now walk you through the progress we have made on So-Young Prime, our strategic priority this year. As we’ve emphasized on our last earnings call, the medical aesthetics industry in China is undergoing numerous structural shifts. Users are becoming increasingly more sophisticated and discerning.
For example, middle class female users, a major demographic group within the large medical aesthetic sectors. They are increasingly showing distinctive consumption habits that reflects this structural shift, such as more attention to safety, service quality and cost for specific high-frequency procedures, such as anti-aging, skin care and body sculpting. Medical institutions and SMEs on the other hand, face new challenges such as higher user acquisition cost, constant CapEx requirements to upgrade equipment and the lack of qualified doctors. This impacts their ability to expand.