Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to LexinFintech's third quarter 2023 earnings conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. After the speaker's presentation, there will be question and answer session. To ask a question during the session, you will need to press star one one on your telephone. You will then hear an automated message advising your hand is raised. To withdraw your question, please press star one one again. Please be advised, today's conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to hand you over to the IR director, Miss Mandy Dong. Please go ahead, ma'am.
Thank you, Amber. Hello, everyone. Welcome to LexinFintech's third quarter 2023 earnings conference call. Our results were issued earlier today and can be found on our IR website. Joining me today are our CEO, Jay Xiao, President, Jared Wu, and CFO, James Zheng. Before we get started, I'd like to remind you of our safe harbor statement in our earnings press release, which also applies to this call. During the call, we may refer to business outlook and forward-looking statements, which are based on our current plans, estimates, and projections. The actual results may differ materially, and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements. Last, unless otherwise stated, all figures mentioned are in RMB. Jay will first provide an update on our overall performance. James will cover the financial results in more details. Lastly, Jared will then discuss risk management.
I will now turn the call over to Jay. His remarks will be in Chinese, and the English translation will follow. Hello, everyone. It's our pleasure to share with you our performance for the third quarter of 2023. In the face of the current industry-wide and the macroeconomic challenges, we adopted a prudent and a steady strategy in the third quarter. Despite a slight volatility in asset quality, we reasonably tightened our risk strategy to balance growth and quality. In the third quarter, we adhered to the dual wheel drive of risk and data, pushed forward the refinement of operation, and continued to strengthen our fundamental capabilities, recording another solid growth performance. Transaction volume was RMB 63.3 billion, up 13% year-over-year. Loan balance under management was RMB 120.7 billion, up 28% year-over-year.
Revenue was RMB 3.5 billion, up 30.4% year-over-year. Net profit was RMB 371 million, up 34.4% year-over-year. In the third quarter, the effectiveness of both new customer acquisition and existing customer operation was further improved. The synergies between e-commerce and the consumer credit business were further enhanced, and the tech empowerment business continued to grow, with its commercialization capability being validated, and we are accelerating its expansion. There were 3 main highlights of the third quarter results. Firstly, refined operations have led to improved efficiency in both acquiring new customers and managing existing ones.
In terms of new customers, we made major upgrades on our new customer acquisition model and the strategy in the third quarter, resulting in notable achievements. The efficiency of attracting customer through feed channel increased by 38.5% compared to the first quarter. The approval rate, number of drawdown borrowers, and the facilitated loan volume for new customers all showed improvement of over 20% compared to the control group. Additionally, early stage delinquency indicator decreased by nearly 20%. We expect both the scale and quality of new customers to continue to benefit in the fourth quarter.
第三季度，我们进一步加大了线下获客能力的建设，包括对普惠团队的组织架构进行升级，完善销售管理制度，加强标准化人才的培养，强化线下精准识别能力，进一步夯实了线下直营获客模式的优势，推动公司整体获客成本的下降。第三季度销售费用环比二季度下降了9.4%。我们看到未来线下增长还有较大的空间和机会，会继续持续深耕这一独特的运营模式。
In the third quarter, we further enhanced our offline customer acquisition capabilities. This included upgrading the organizational structure of the offline inclusive finance (in Chinese, 普惠) team, improving the sales management system, strengthening the cultivation of standardized talents, and enhancing the ability to accurately identify offline customers. These efforts solidified the advantages of our offline direct customer acquisition model, resulting in a decrease in overall customer acquisition cost. Sales expenses in the third quarter declined by 9.5% compared to the second quarter. We see more potential and opportunities for offline growth in the future, and will continue to deepen our presence in this unique business model.
在老客方面，我们坚持稳健经营，夯实模型应用的底层能力建设，进一步提升了。在季度内，我们引入更多数据源，构建以人行征信系统为核心的识别系统，完善了从获客、风险运营整个生命周期的模型框架，模型的排序性和稳定性较前一个版本有10%-20%的提升。
In terms of existing users, we maintained a steady operation and strengthened the underlying capability building for model application, further enhanced our service capabilities. During the quarter, we introduced more data sources and built an identification system centered around the credit system of PBOC. We improved the model framework for the entire customer acquisition, risk management, and operational life cycle. The sequencing and stability of the model were improved by 10%-20% over the previous version.
三季度，我们用企业微信进行用户运营，目前已经累计了70万粉丝，提升了服务效率和满意度。通过企业微信进行优质客户的精细化运营，对照传统模式，客户下单率提升65%，交易额提升107%。
In the third quarter, we utilized the Enterprise WeChat for user operations, which has accumulated 700,000 borrowers, and improved service efficiency and satisfaction. Through refined operations, target high quality customer groups via Enterprise WeChat. Compared to the traditional method, we achieved a nearly 65% increase in customer order rates and a 107% increase in transaction volume.
第三季度，公司定价18%以下，面向优质客群的产品乐金卡取得不错的进展。使用乐金卡后，用户下单意愿和成交金额均有显著提升，下单率、人均交易金额、总成交额均有80%以上的涨幅，有效提升了优质在贷客户的活跃度，并促进更多优质流失用户的回流，拓宽了我们优质用户经营的范围和空间。
In the third quarter, our product, Lejin Card, priced below 18%, and targeted towards high quality customer segments, delivered satisfying progress. After using Lejin Card, users' willingness to place order and the transaction volume has been significantly improved. The order rate, average transaction volume per person, and the total transaction volume all experienced around an 80% increase. This effectively enhanced the engagement of high quality active borrowers, and facilitated the return of more high quality settled users, expanding the scope and opportunities for managing our premium user base.
第二个亮点是生态业务持续增长，协同效应进一步增强。首先是数科业务。去年四季度实现季度盈利以后，数科业务规模进一步增长，三季度环比增长了59%。经过两年的探索，数科业务已经完成了解决方案的升级，产品矩阵更加多元，系统和交付的标准能力得到验证，获得多家城商行、农商行的认可。
The second highlight was the continued growth of Lexin ecosystem and the further enhancement of synergies. Firstly, the tech empowerment business. After achieving quarterly profit in the fourth quarter of last year, the scale of this business line grew further, with a 59% sequential increase in the third quarter. After nearly two years of exploration, we have completed upgrades in solutions, diversified our product portfolio, and validated the standardized capabilities in systems and the deliverables, which was well recognized by multiple urban and rural commercial banks. The 59 growth rate further validated the commercialization capability of our tech empowerment business, although it currently accounts for a small proportion of Lexin's overall business. In the context of increasingly refined industry regulations and a downward trend in consumer credit market interest rate, and tech empowerment business can help banks quickly undergo retail credit digitalization transformation with tremendous market potential.
It can also bring better synergy to funding cooperation and drive deeper and broader collaborations between Lexin and the financial institutions. Currently, the tech empowerment business team is accelerating its expansion and will cover more cities and the rural commercial banks to further expand the scale. Secondly, our e-commerce business brought out more value in terms of customer new acquisition and activating existing ones, further enhancing the synergies with our core consumer credit business. In the third quarter, our e-commerce division continued to solidify its highest level authorization for Apple T1 and Huawei L1 , maintaining advantages in scale and initial supply. This further boosted consumer spending on our e-commerce platform.
Taking Huawei as an example, sales of the new Mate 60 series and the X5 reached a record high for the year in the third quarter, with an approximately 66.0% increase in revenue compared to last year's Mate 50 products. In addition to our strength in the consumer electronics 3C categories, we introduced more high-quality new brands and merchants onto our platform in the third quarter, covering categories that are favored by young generation, such as luxury goods, sports, and pet goods. The number of new merchants reached 241, representing a sequential growth of 51% in brand coverage. With the addition of more merchants and expansion of product categories, a large number of existing users have been activated, leading to a stimulation between e-commerce and consumer credit business.
During the Double Eleven Shopping Festival, the period from November 1st to 11th, the growth in the e-commerce consumer base resulted in a notable increase in transaction volume from high-quality active customer level R1 to R3, with a sequential increase of approximately 12.4%. At the same time, these active consumer credit users further drove e-commerce spending, creating a reinforcing cycle within our business ecosystem.
第三个亮点是数据驱动提质增效，盈利能力进一步提升。三季度，我们采取一系列数据驱动的方式提升运营效率，这些措施包括应用用户生命周期全局模型等数据化工具，加强精细化运营。通过决策仿真系统提升资金资产匹配效率，以及提升结清用户回流效果等。此外，降本增效工作持续推进，共同推动Q3总费用同比下降了7%，净利占交易额的比例持续增加，环比二季度提升三个BP。
Third highlight is the data driven approach to improve quality and efficiency, further enhancing our profitability. In the third quarter, we implemented a series of data driven measures to improve our operational efficiency. These measures included applying data tools such as user lifecycle models to strengthen precision operations, enhancing the efficiency of banks and asset matching through decision simulation systems, and improving the customer retention rate for settled users.
资金成本的下降也进一步提升了公司的能力。三季度，公司实现资金结构的重大优化，与多家股份大行进行战略合作，资金成本再创新低，环比下降21个BP。
The drop in funding costs has further improved profitability. In the third quarter, the company achieved significant optimization of our funding structure and entered into strategic partnership with multiple major banks, including nationwide joint stock banks. Funding costs reach a new record low of 21 basis points drop on our Q-on-Q basis.
The high-speed development of the business cannot do without the continuous investment in technology and R&D. In the third quarter, the company's R&D investment was CNY 127 million, continuing to maintain industry leadership. Within the quarter, we accelerated the landing and application of the AI large model in the company through Lexin financial exclusive data training and business data fine-tuning. In terms of business interaction, it has already been fully implemented in major business processes such as telesales, customer service, and collections.
In terms of productivity improvement, it is widely applied in scenarios such as R&D code assistance, design creative generation, and data analysis, improving the company's overall operational efficiency. In terms of risk control core, we continue to focus on and actively explore the landing and application of the AI large model in the risk core field. These measures have significantly improved the company's overall operational efficiency and customer experience.
The rapid development of our business also relies on continuous investment in technology and research and development. In the third quarter, our company invested RMB 127 million in research and development, maintaining our industry leading position. During the quarter, we accelerated the development of the use case of AI large language models in our business through exclusive data pre-training and fine tuning of business data. In terms of business application, we have already fully implemented the AI model in key business processes such as telemarketing, customer service, and loan collection. In terms of working towards, the AI model is widely applied in scenarios such as coding, assistant tools, generating design ideas, and data analysis, enhancing the overall operational efficiency of the company.
In terms of risk management, we are closely watching the industry trends and actively exploring the use case of AI large language models. These initiatives have significantly improved the overall operational efficiency and the customer experience.
凭借扎实的技术优势，第三季度乐信四次入选中国服务业五百强名单榜单，成为金融科技业唯一四度入选的企业。
With solid technology advantages. In the third quarter, Lexin has been selected for the fourth time as one of the top 500 Chinese service companies, making us the only Fintech company on the list for fourth time.
企业社会责任方面，三季度我们对消费者权益保护举措进行全新升级。在5S守护体系上，我们通过强化数据安全管理，提高反欺诈保护能力，加大智能客服应用，加强金融黑产打击力度四大举措，为消费者搭建起全方位的安全防火墙。
In terms of corporate, corporate social responsibility. In the third quarter, we made major upgrades to our consumer rights protection measures upon the foundation of our 5S Guardian System. We have carried out four major initiatives: One, strengthening our data security management system. Two, enhancing anti-fraud protection capabilities. Three, expanding intelligent customer service application. And four, intensifying efforts to combat illegal anti-collection groups. These measures collectively established a comprehensive safety firewall for consumers.
This year, in the first eight months, Lexin intercepted 160 million data security attacks. The data protection and governance system maintained a record of zero data leaks since going online. The anti-fraud system cumulatively avoided user loss amounts exceeding RMB 470 million. Customer satisfaction rose to 99.6%. Looking forward to the fourth quarter.
面对复杂不确定的外部环境，我们将秉承审慎的经营原则，风险管理优先，持续推动风险下降，资产质量提升，在交易规模和资产质量之间保持平衡。公司将维持年初给出的RMB 2,450-2,550亿元的交易额指引，即20%-25%的同比增长。
From January to August this year, Lexin intercepted 160 million instances of data security attacks, maintaining a record of zero data leaks since the launch of the data protection and governance system. The anti-fraud system has prevented potential user losses for over RMB 270 million, and the customer satisfaction has reached 99.6%. Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, in the face of a complex and uncertain external environment, we will adhere to the principle of prudent operation and prioritize risk management. We will continue to enhance risk management capabilities and improve asset quality, while striking a fine balance between transaction volume and asset quality. We maintain the guidance on full year loan origination we gave earlier this year, ranging from RMB 245 billion-RMB 255 billion, representing 20%-25% year-over-year growth.
接下来，我把发言机会交给我们CFO，谢谢。
Next, I will pass to our CFO for financial updates.
Thank you, Jay. I will now provide more details on our financial results. Please note that all numbers are in RMB, unless otherwise stated. In the face of a sluggish macroeconomic environment and a subdued consumer confidence, we have sustained our growth for the sixth straight quarter, signaling a robust V-shaped recovery since the first quarter of 2022. Our focus on improving risk management capabilities, customer upgrading, operational refinement, cost-saving initiatives, and optimizing our funding, particularly by lowering the early repayment rate, has propelled us forward this quarter. Amidst the ongoing economic uncertainties, our strategy has been prudent. We have moderated new loan originations to prioritize asset quality and conservatively made ample provisions in our financials, which, while impacting us in the near term, supports our long-term financial health. To provide some context, first, let's take a look at the year-over-year number comparisons.
Total loan origination increased by 12.7% year-over-year to CNY 63.3 billion. Revenue climbed to CNY 3.5 billion, up 30.4% year-over-year, largely due to reduced early repayments and larger outstanding loan balance, now at CNY 121 billion. Notably, we significantly cut the early repayment ratio in Q3 to a level at about 90% of Q2's level, and aim to keep it optimal in Q4. The average weighted APR remained under 24%, with loans below this threshold comprising 86% of total loans, up over 5% from last year. Our funding cost hit a record low of 6.4%, down from 7.0% last year, attributable in part to successful partnerships with the national banks, which we anticipate will further reduce costs.
Loan tenors decreased as we fine-tuned our portfolio's structure in response to the market uncertainty, averaging 13.1 month, compared to 13.8 in Q3 of 2022. Cost efficiencies continue, with operating expenses, including processing and services, sales and marketing, R&D, and G&A, falling to 0.91% of the average loan balance, a 35 basis point saving from the previous year. Consequently, net income rose to RMB 371 million, a 34.4% increase year-over-year, improving our net margin to 10.6%. Despite the heightened provisions, the increase underscores our resilient profitability and the business momentum. Apart from the above year-over-year analysis, I would also like to share some perspectives from quarter-over-quarter comparisons. Total G&A remained relatively stable as we balanced maintaining asset quality with business growth.
A slight takeaway improvement reflects effective early repayment control and reduced funding costs, although offset by pricing reductions, shorter loan durations, and additional provisioning. Risk management remains a cornerstone strategy, yet factors like the slow economic recovery and challenges within the loan collection industry have slightly affected the asset quality, as reflected in metrics such as Day One Delinquency Rate, M1 Collection Rate, and Ninety Days Delinquency Rate. For instance, our Ninety Days Delinquency Rate in Q3 was 2.67%, which is slightly higher in comparison with 2.59% in Q2. Nonetheless, we have adjusted our bad debt provisions, reaching a coverage ratio of approximately 350%, which is defined as the total provision amount divided by the principal amount of ninety days delinquent loans.
The current fluctuation in asset quality across industry seems to continue to cloud Q4. We are vigilant and have taken all measures to safeguard our asset quality level. Operating expenses fell by 7.2% from the last quarter, primarily from reduced sales marketing and the general administrative spending. With increased provisions from Q2, we still achieved a 4.2% sequential growth in net income and maintained a 10.6% net margin. From both year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter perspectives, we have made significant improvement during Q3. Although macro headwinds persist, we have maintained the rebounding pace of our business and anticipate the business growth momentum to continue. Let's review some specific financial items.
Total operating revenue hit RMB 3.5 billion for Q3, with an increase of 14.8% quarter-over-quarter and a 30.4% year-over-year, driven mainly by the credit facilitation business, which saw a significant increase both quarterly and annually. Tech empowerment services also grew, while installment e-commerce platform service revenue declined due to the high Q2 numbers, driven by the 618 promotion and an accounting reclassification. Despite of this, the e-commerce GMV grew by 12.8% year-over-year. Expense ratio demonstrates our continued progress in cost optimization, notably in marketing, where we have achieved greater efficiency and lower customer acquisition costs.
The sales marketing expenses decreased by 9.4% quarter-over-quarter, and it decreased by 3.3% year-over-year, which was mainly due to the improved efficiency of upgraded RTA customer acquisition models. In Q3, new users with approved credit lines increased 15.1%, and new active users increased 8.2% on a quarter-over-quarter basis, indicating a lower customer acquisition cost in Q3. Net profit for the quarter was approximately CNY 371 million, marking steady increase with a 4.2% growth quarter-over-quarter and a 34.4% growth year-over-year. Our cash position is strong, ending the quarter with around CNY 5 billion in hand and a solid equity position of CNY 9.8 billion.
In Q3, we have declared a recurring cash dividend plan and paid out a cash dividend for the first half of 2023, amounting around $90 million, equivalent to roughly 20% of the total net profit for the first half of 2023. Looking forward, we will continue to look for ways to return more value to shareholders. Looking ahead to the rest of 2023, given the current macros and the pressure on asset quality throughout the industry, we remain conservative in loan origination pacing. We maintain the earlier guidance of annual GMV amount of RMB 245 billion-RMB 255 billion growth, which represents a 20%-25% year-over-year. These estimates reflect our current expectations, which is subject to change. To sum up, Q3 marks our sixth consecutive growth quarter.
Our key strategies, risk management, customer enhancement, operational refinement, and cost efficiency, are all paying off. As we navigate ongoing macro and industry challenges, we will maintain our focus on asset control, measured business expansion, and operational optimization, poised to seize opportunities, opportunities as they arise. Now, I will hand over to Jared Wu, our President, to discuss our approach on risk management in detail. Jared, please take it from here.
Thank you, James.
...因此，我们采取了更加谨慎稳健的风险策略来应对环境的变化。同时，在催收环节，我们成功，通过扩大了内催的人力规模，发挥内催M1到M3的回款优势，提高人工处理案件占比等措施来平稳资产回收效率。
Thank you, James. In the third quarter, we continued to step up our efforts in honing our holistic risk management system and optimizing our customer base on the grounds of our corporate strategy, risk management upgrading and customer base upgrading, which yield consistent results. Although we continued to improve our risk management capabilities, our loan collection rate experienced some fluctuations due to the slow recovery of macro conditions and the rise of illegal anti-collection activities recently. We anticipate this impact from these factors may last into Q4. Therefore, we are built into a more prudent risk management approach going forward. Meanwhile, we rolled out a series of countermeasures to mitigate these impacts on loan collection. For instance, in the collection process, we have stepped up our internal collection workforce and leverage the advantages of internal collection manpower, and we also increased the proportion of manual case handling to uphold the collection rate.
在三季度，我们通过持续优化RTA模型和新客授信准入风控模型，获客效率提升了50%，新客的风险下降了20%。在Q4，我们将增加实验放量，并持续高速推进策略的迭代，努力在今年储备好充足的优质客户，为明年的增长打好基础。
During the third quarter, through continuous optimization of our RTA model and the risk models for new customer credit line approval, we achieved a 55% improvement in customer acquisition efficiency and a 20% reduction in new customer risk levels. In Q4, we will gradually amplify our experimental flow and continue to rapidly advance strategies iteration, striving to accumulate a sufficient number of high quality customers this year, and lay the solid foundation for next year's growth.
在三季度，我们加快了引进顶级的风控人才，以增强我们的核心竞争力，可以预见，他们的专业能力和成熟经验将帮助我们在风控领域取得新的突破。我们也会继续秉承风险驱动的原则，打造行业一流的风控团队。
In the third quarter, we accelerated the recruitment of top-notch industry talents in risk management space, to further enhance our core competitiveness. We anticipate their professional skills and extensive experience in risk management space will assist us to achieve more breakthroughs. Adhering to the risk management driven principle, we will continue to build up our industry leading risk management team.
面对当前的宏观形势，在四季度我们将继续采取谨慎稳健的风险策略，并同时持续提升自身的风控实力，不断迭代进化我们的整体风控水平。
Looking ahead, in the face of the current macroeconomic situation, in Q4, we will continue to adhere to the principle of risk management first, adopt a prudent strategy, and at the same time continue to enhance our underlying risk management capabilities and persistently iterate the overall level of our risk management. Operator, that concludes all our prepared management remarks. I think we are now good to open the floor for questions.
Thank you. We will now begin the question-and-answer session. As a reminder, to ask a question, please press star one one on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. To withdraw your question, please press star one one again. Please stand by while we compile the Q&A roster. Once again, that's star one one for questions. Our first question comes from the line of Alex Ye from UBS. Please ask your question, Alex.
大家好，感谢给我这个提问的机会。我这边有两个问题，第一个是，关于刚刚在管理层讲话中提到，在三季度对于用户的提前还款，行为取得了一个比较有效的控制，这个比较明显地降低了提前还款率，然后也提高了我们的 take rate。能不能，给我展开讲讲具体的一些措施，以及对于 Q4 的这个提前还款率水平的一个展望。然后第二个问题是关于新客的获客方面，在 Q3 也取得一个不错的，进展，环比，新获客数量提高，获客成本也有所下降，想也可以给我们简单介绍一下这个具体的措施。 I have two questions, the first one is regarding the management remarks about the successful control in early repayment ratio in Q3, which helped to increase the revenue take rate. Could you share with some more color in terms of the specific measures taken and provide us with some color into the, ex, your expectation for the Q4?
Second question is about your new customer acquisition. We have noticed good progress in Q3 in terms of both l ower customer acquisition costs and number of new customers acquired. Could you also give more color on this? Thank you.
好的，那这个问题我来回答吧。其实在Q3公司，我们在整个的管理，整个的一个折损率上面呢，我们成立了一个专门的一个由公司领导层直接领导的一个小组，是吧。我们通过，建立与客户更加精准的一些识别，是吧，比如说哪些用户可能会提前的整个的还款的整个的一个模型，包括哪些，哪些用户的整个的根据用户的余额来给出一个用户最佳的整个用券的一些整个的一个策略。是吧，我们通过，通过各种措施吧，帮助我们更好地找到了一些可能会提前还款的用户，是吧，也避免了一些我们整个的运营措施导致用户提前还款的一些这种策略。是吧，那在这样的一个情况下呢，我们在内部不同部门的整个的配合，是吧，然后有效地在一些流程上对用户做了一些干预，包括我们在用户在提前还款过程中，我们，在提前还款的过程中，比如说我们用户要提前还款，我们可以给用户发一个，发一个优惠券，告诉他，诶，如果你不提前还款，那我们可以给你一定的整个的激励，是吧。等等这些措施吧，我说帮助我们很好地有效地去控制了整个提前还款的这样的一个行为。是吧，我们在整个的一个项目里头呢，我们会，会通过，通过周的，以周为进度在跟进这个事情，所以说取得了一个不错的一个效果。我们在Q3，我们的提款率是Q2的，90%的水平，这大幅地提升了我们的整个通过率的一个，一个水平。我们预计在Q4，这个这些措施都，都会继续地保持，而且在Q4的整个提款率的整个的水平也，也可以得到一个，一个持续吧。
Thank you, Alex. So in the first quarter, we set up a special task force directed by the company's managing level, and then spanning multiple departments such as operations, to determine based on the customer's outstanding balance or as well as the credit line, to decide the best coupon strategies based on their own performances, to better determine whether they are likely to do the repayment or the repayment process or not. To better avoid our strategic error to cause that we as well as we should be suitable and be fit coupons in order to try to deter them from doing so. Which effectively helps us to reduce the early repayment rate. And also our task team helps with the meeting to review, adjust, and re-optimize and achieve a very good result in the third quarter.
In the third quarter, our early repayment rate was only about 90% of which in the second quarter, which significantly improved the take rate level of the revenue. And then we expect to maintain such strategy as well as the optimized level in the early repayment rate to go on in the fourth quarter.
好的，第二个问题就是在新客方面，其实在Q3，我们新客能力在快速的整个的一个迭代，我们进行了一个新客的整个的一个A卡的风险模型的一个重大的一个升级。是啊，我们全面加强了人行征信在整个新客模型当中的一些应用，是吧，包括我们也继续地在推动了我们一些重要媒体的整个的一些RTA的整个的一个模型。然后大家可以看到，其实我们在，至少在这个重大的迭代以后呢，我们的获客效率提升了50%，并且对应的的新客的风险还下降了20%。从报表上面来看，我们的销售费用环比下降了9.4%，但季度内新增注册用户、授信用户、新的借款用户分别比上个季度增加了9%、15.1%和8.2%，这意味着我们用更少的钱获取来了更多有效的客户。那Q4，我们正在加速地应用这个新的整个的一个模型，并且继续地在推动它的一个迭代。并且我们看到这个新客的整个的模型，还有目前的一些获客的一个效果，为我们明年去获取更多优质的整个客户，提升资产质量，打下了一个比较好的一个基础。
Okay, so in third quarter, we continue to iterate our ability to acquire new customers and achieve the same reduction in the new customer risk. In comparison with the previous quarter, we did a significant new customer risk model upgrade, including incorporating more the PBOC model usage, as well as promoting the RTA model upgrade with our own, with our main media channels. Specifically, our customer acquisition efficiency was increased, increased by 50% and reduced new customers risk by 20%.
And from the pure earnings point of view, the marketing expenses decreased by 9.4% quarter-over-quarter, but newly registered user increased 9.0% quarter-over-quarter, and new users with approved credit line has increased by 15.1%, and new active users was increased by, 8.2% on a quarter-over-quarter basis, indicating a much lower customer acquisition cost in third quarter. Coming in the fourth quarter, we will increase the volume of the our, comparison as well as the experimental group mentioned before, and to continue to push forward the strategy of iteration at a more faster, faster pace.
To better reserve a significant number of high quality customers, as well as including pushing the new model, which has been showing prominent results to better lay a foundation for the next year's work. Hope that answers your question, Alex
Thank you, Alex. Our next question comes from the line of Yada Li from CICC. Please ask your question, Yada.
Good evening. Hello. Thanks for taking my question. I would like to ask, from October to November, what is the real loan demand like, and what is the corresponding asset quality compared to the third quarter? Thank you. I will do the translation. Thanks, management, for taking my questions. I was wondering if you could elaborate more about how the current loan demand looks like in October and November, and compare with the previous quarter. Currently, how is the recent trend of the asset quality? And that's all. Thank you.
Okay. So I will answer this question. From what we have seen so far, the demand for October and November is slightly down compared to Q3, and there is no sign of a recovery. But the demand for October is still higher than Q3, about probably in the middle digits. And from the daily demand in November, but looking at the unique advantages of Lexin, because we have e-commerce and shopping centers, so we benefit from the Double Eleven e-commerce shopping festival promotion. So we saw that the overall demand came back a little bit. Compared to the overall level of Q3, it seems to be flat for two months. But considering the seasonal factors at the end of the year, we are still cautious about the overall loan volume for Q4.
So from the perspective of asset quality, I think as mentioned earlier, the overall impact of Q4 on asset quality is still there. Including the impact of some bad debts. We can also see some decline in efficiency in our initial loans. Currently, our overall asset quality is under certain pressure, right? Some short-term risk indicators fluctuate, but we have actively taken various measures to deal with some external impacts and reduce the impact on our overall. For example, we are now increasing the proportion of internal collection , and then 提前 through some strategies to control the scale of new loans and improve asset quality. So I think we are trying our best to maintain Q4 at a reasonable level in terms of overall scale and asset quality.
Okay, thank you, Yada. At the operational level, the demand growth seen so far in October and November is down slightly compared to the third quarter, and no significant recovery is seen. So specifically, the demand level were slightly weaker in October compared to the third quarter, probably ranging in the mid-single digits. From the point of view that the average daily demand in November up to now, benefiting from the boost of Double Eleven e-commerce festival, compared with the level of third quarter, is basically flattish. However, considering the year-end seasonality factors, including the bank's year-end supply tightening and the recent trend of over capital flow shifting to government and real estate assets, we maintain a cautious and conservative stance on the fourth quarter work volume.
In terms of the asset quality, as Jared mentioned earlier, in the fourth quarter, the factors affecting our asset quality persisted, mainly because of the macroeconomy is still in a period of steady recovery, as well as the growth and the impact of the anti-collection industry has been affected the rate of our collection rates to a certain extent. It seems that we are currently under pressure on the quality of assets, and the various risk indicators have been fluctuating. However, we have actively taken various countermeasures to deal with the fluctuations caused by external factors, such as increasing the proportion of our own inbound calls and continuously iterating our risk management models.
The volatility of risk will put some pressure on the growth for the fourth quarter, that's for sure, but we are doing measures to combat that. Hope that answers your question, Yada.
Let me add one more point. As mentioned earlier, our progress in new customer acquisition is actually very helpful for our future overall. Currently, our new customers have obvious improvements in terms of scale, cost, and quality. So this is a very, very good factor for our future overall scale growth and asset quality control. So we hope to see that the improvement of new customers has a very positive impact on our future asset quality and overall scale.
So just to add one last point, in terms of the results that we're getting and the progress we're getting for new customer acquisition, in the future, we're hoping, with the promising size and the volume that comes out of new customers, as well as the cost being lower- acquisition as well as the risk level, looking very promising and good right now. It should be a very good factor for us in the future. It should be helping, whether it's on our asset quality side of the or the operational side, in the future. So, hope that answers your question, Yada.
Thank you, Yada. Our next question comes from the line of Betty Lee from CLSA. Please go ahead, Betty.
I will translate by myself. The first one, given the current loan guidance, I think the company is in good track in maintaining the full year loan origination. But just wonder if you have any outlook for the 2024 loan demand. The second one is, I just wonder if the company has any further share buyback plans. Thank you.
Okay, I will take the question. Basically, first question related to the outlook. Second question is about the buyback, right? Basically, for the macro perspective, we still believe there is a considerable amount of uncertainty in the fourth quarter. The overall recovery of the consumption still remain relatively slow. But at the same time, because of the typical kind of seasonal factor of a funding supply in the fourth quarter is a little bit tight, so we expect that the overall lending volume in Q4 to be broadly in line with Q3. Okay, this is one. Two, obviously, we have other factors affecting the seasonal asset quality. These factors continue to exist, as mentioned earlier, right?
One is the macro kind of still growth is a little bit slow, and also within the loan industry, the impact of combating illicit financial activities related to the debt collection. This is still kind of affecting the rate of entry into the collection and also the exit from the collection. Okay? So based on this, the overall kind of asset quality is still under slight pressure at this point. The short-term risk indicators have still shown some fluctuations. So based on all of this, we are basically continue to maintain a prudent approach for Q4, really adhering to the principles of prioritization risks and a prudent management. And up to now, as a reminder, actually, you know, we have maintained a pretty good rate of growth.
We have completed about RMB 188 billion so far for the first three quarters of this year. Really, this is about 26.7% year-over-year growth. Okay? So we're gonna continue—we're confident we'll continue to achieve the RMB 245 billion-RMB 255 billion GMV growth. This will be 20%-25%. And in terms of 2024, we're probably gonna wait until after we close this year to give more guidance. By that time, hopefully, we have more certainty about the overall macros next year. Okay? That's the first question. The second question, in terms of any buyback plans. As a matter of fact, the board has approved two buyback plans last year.
We completed about $50 million buyback earlier part of this year, and then the board authorized $20 million buyback in November last year. For that, we haven't done anything yet. But in last quarter, we have declared a dividend plan. Basically, we declared we're gonna pay out from 15%-30% of our net income as a dividend payout range. So the first half of this year, we paid out 20% of our net income, and we have completed paying out the dividend in the last month or so. So we'll continue to look for ways to return value to our shareholders.
Basically, when we close the end of this year, we're gonna come back to look at our dividend planning again, see whether we should continue to pay out for the second half of the dividend for this year. Okay? So basically, upholding the shareholder value is the number one priority for us. Thank you. Hopefully, that answers your question.
Thank you, Betty. We have reached the end of the question and answer session. I'll now turn the conference back to the company for any additional closing comments.
Well, I think that close our conference call today. Thank you again, everyone, for joining us today. If you have further questions, please contact us via our IR contact information on the IR website. Thank you all. Have a good day and a good night.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Okay, bye-bye.
Thank you. That concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.