Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by and welcome to Pinduoduo Q1 2022 Earnings Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. There will be a presentation followed by a question and answer session, at which time, if you wish to ask a question, you will need to press star one on your telephone. I must advise you that this conference is being recorded today. I would now like to hand the conference over to your host today, Mr. Chen Pin. Sir, please go ahead.
Thank you, operator. Hello, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. My name is Chen, and I will help host the earnings call. Pinduoduo earnings release was distributed earlier and is available on our website at investor.pinduoduo.com, as well as through GlobeNewswire services. Before we begin, I would like to refer you to our safe harbor statement in the earnings press release, which applies to this call as we will make certain forward-looking statements. Also, this call includes discussions of certain non-GAAP financial measures. Please refer to our earnings release, which contains a reconciliation of the non-GAAP measures to GAAP measures. Joining us today on the call are Chen Lei, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Liu Jun, our VP of Finance. Lei will make some general remarks on our performance for the past quarter and our strategic focus going forward.
Jun will then take us through our financial results for the Q1 ended March 31, 2022. During the Q&A session, Lei will answer questions in Chinese, and I will help translate. Please kindly note that all translations provided are for reference purpose only. In case of any discrepancy between the original remarks and the translated version, statements in the original language should prevail. Now it is my pleasure to introduce our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Chen Lei. Lei, please go ahead.
Thank you, Chen. Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining our earnings call for the first quarter of 2022. Let me start by giving a brief overview of our first quarter results. Our total revenue for this quarter, excluding revenue from merchandise sales, was CNY 23.7 billion. This represents a year-on-year increase of 39%. Our annual active buyers reached 881.9 million for 12 months ending on March 31, with 751.3 million average quarterly MAU. Given our current scale, our user growth will inevitably slow down. That's why we have shifted our priority from winning new users to how to better serve our existing user base. We also strive to adapt to the constantly evolving patterns of consumer behavior.
There is still plenty of room for us to improve, and we will continue to work hard to refine and strengthen our core capabilities. In all of this, agriculture continues to be the front and center of our strategy. We remain focused on making long-term investments in agriculture and promoting digital inclusion. A key plank of our strategy has been to develop a tech-driven agriculture infrastructure that's responsive, sustainable, and that can meet the needs of different stakeholders. We constantly think about how we can use our platform to create more value for our consumers and benefit society. Here, I would like to take this opportunity to express my thanks to our consumers, producers, merchants, and other partners for their continued support. We are grateful to them for standing with us as Pinduoduo matures as a company and takes on more social responsibilities.
We are committed to serving all of them better. We are also grateful that Pinduoduo is in a position to serve millions of farmers and connect them to a digital economy. We help farmers earn more by promoting agricultural produce to more consumers across the country. This creates huge value for our consumers, who can now enjoy high quality fresh produce at low cost through our agriculture network. During the Chinese New Year period in the Q1 , we partnered with our merchants and logistics service providers to offer uninterrupted delivery services. Demand for high-quality agricultural produce surged during the period. We attracted orders from consumers who could not fulfill their needs previously due to lengthy delivery time, high cost, and wastage. Order volumes for different types of agricultural produce increased significantly during the Chinese New Year period. They include cherries, oranges, seafood, and so on.
Their relatively short shelf lives mean that supply has previously been confined to a local region. Aided by our agricultural infrastructure, it now takes just a few hours for the fresh produce to arrive at warehouses. This has greatly shortened the time consumer has to wait to receive their fresh produce. As work continues on agricultural infrastructure, we're also pushing ahead on the technology front. Now I'm happy to share with you some of the tangible results from the second smart agriculture competition. A long-distance tomato growing challenge that concluded in April. Over the last six months, we worked closely with China Agricultural University, Zhejiang University, the UN FAO, and Wageningen University & Research to encourage young scientists and technologists to develop practical and cost-effective agri-tech solutions that farmers can use to improve their livelihood. The participating teams have done very well in applying technology to solve real-world problems.
First, they developed precision greenhouse management solutions that substantially improve crop production. The teams were able to deliver double the yields of traditional growers by adjusting variables such as humidity and the lighting. The nutritional value of the tomatoes also registers in the top range of the industry. These solutions are commercially viable and can be applied by growers without special training. Second, the R&D processes of participating teams gave birth to other practical technologies. For instance, one group of researchers developed a disease prediction model that gave farmers one-week window to intervene and prevent loss. Another group came up with low-cost and environmentally friendly equipment that enhanced plant growth. The teams also made use of visual recognition technology to help growers make better decisions on irrigation and harvesting. Their achievements demonstrate the benefits of technology when brought into agriculture.
We are delighted that the competition is serving as a bridge between academia and industry, and a channel for the implementation of effective technology. We will be supporting the teams as they roll out their solutions across China. We are also very encouraged that the competition has helped inspire young people from different disciplines and backgrounds to improve their work in agriculture. The majority of the participants in the smart agriculture competition were born in the 1990s. Many have said they benefited greatly from interacting with world-class talent from different fields. They gain new perspectives and new knowledge to help advance their own work. Indeed, some participants in the competition come from rural backgrounds. They bring with them a firm belief that agri-tech will help secure our food supply and relieve the workload of farmers.
We will share their deeply held sense of mission to make agriculture better through technology. The future of agriculture will depend on attracting more of these tech youth and channeling their passion and ideas into this sector. On our part, Pinduoduo stands ready to help facilitate their dream. We believe that the digitalization of agriculture will unlock opportunities and efficiencies that will benefit society at large and the environment. We are committed to investing and working with like-minded partners on this important mission. We will play long game and aim for long-term success. This will mean being patient and evaluating initiatives according to the impact on agri-food ecosystem and future generations. To conclude, we started last year to transition from a phase of hyper-growth to one of the more measured development. Our transition from sales and marketing towards research and development continues apace into 2022.
We now have a technology team numbering over 5,600, which represents about 60% of our total workforce. They not only innovate and improve our technological capabilities, but also help attract new talent. We will step up our efforts to first build up our in-house research and development capabilities. We continue to believe that this is the right approach at this stage of our development. We will do more and do better to achieve our long-term corporate mission to put people first, to be open, and to benefit all. Thank you. Now let me pass the time to Jun.
Thank you, Lei. Hello, everyone. Let me first walk you through our operating results for the Q1 ended March 31, 2022. Our annual active buyers for the 12 months ending March 31, 2022 was 881.9 million. This is an increase of 58.1 million or 7% from the same quarter of 2021. Average MAU in Q1 was 751.3 million. This is a 26.7 million increase or 4% from the same quarter of 2021. At this current scale, it is inevitable for us to see slower user growth. We will continue to focus on how to serve our users better, to deepen the trust users place in us and to improve user mindshare. Next, I will go through our financial performance in the quarter ended March 31, 2022.
In terms of P&L, our total revenue in the quarter was CNY 23.8 billion, up 7% from CNY 22.2 billion in the same quarter of 2021. This was mainly driven by an increase in revenues from online marketing services and the revenue from transaction services, offset by the decrease in revenue from 1P trials. Excluding revenue from our 1P trials, our total revenue was CNY 23.7 billion in Q1 2022, up 39% from CNY 17 billion in the same quarter of 2021. Revenues from online marketing services and others were CNY 18.2 billion this quarter, up 29% compared with the same period of 2021. This was primarily due to an increase in merchant activities, a reflection of the value that our platform creates for them.
Our transaction services revenue this quarter were CNY 5.6 billion, up 91% versus the same period of 2021. The increase in our transaction services revenue was due to, first, the increase in total transaction processing fee as a result of higher transaction volume. Second, more diversified services that we provide to merchants, such as fulfillment services. Moving on to costs and expenses. Our total cost of revenue decreased from CNY 10.7 billion in Q1 2021- CNY 7.2 billion this quarter. The decrease came mainly from the reduction of merchandise sales, partially offset by increased fulfillment expenses. Total operating expenses this quarter were CNY 14.5 billion versus CNY 15.6 billion in the same quarter of 2021.
On a non-GAAP basis, our total operating expenses as a percentage of revenue, including 1P, has been declined from 86%- 55% for Q1 of 2021 and 2022 respectively. Looking at specific expense items. Our non-GAAP sales and marketing expenses this quarter are CNY 10.7 billion, down 16% versus the same quarter of 2021. As we continue to shift away from our previous focus on sales and marketing, we remained disciplined on our sales and our marketing spending this quarter. As a result, on a non-GAAP basis, our sales and our marketing expenses as a percentage of our revenue this quarter was 45% compared with 57% for the same quarter in 2021.
Our non-GAAP general and administrative expenses were CNY 208.8 million, versus CNY 160.7 million in the same quarter of 2021. Our non-GAAP research and development expenses were CNY 2 billion, an increase of 70% from CNY 1.7 billion in the same quarter of 2021. The increase was primarily due to an increase in headcount and recruitment of more experienced R&D personnel. To better meet evolving consumer demands and to foster sustainable growth of our platform, we are committed to further growing our R&D capabilities and stabilize our R&D spending. Operating profit for the quarter was CNY 2.2 billion on a GAAP basis, compared with operating loss of CNY 4.1 billion in the same quarter of 2021.
Non-GAAP operating profit was CNY 3.7 billion, versus the operating loss of CNY 3.2 billion in the same quarter of 2021. Net income attributable to ordinary shareholders was CNY 2.6 billion, compared with a net loss of CNY 2.9 billion in the same quarter of 2021. Basic earnings per ADS was CNY 2.06, and diluted earnings per ADS was CNY 1.84 versus basic and diluted net loss per ADS of CNY 2.33 in the same quarter of 2021. Non-GAAP net income attributable to ordinary shareholders was CNY 4.2 billion, compared with the net loss of CNY 1.9 billion in the same quarter last year.
Non-GAAP diluted earnings per ADS was CNY 2.95 versus a non-GAAP diluted net loss per ADS of CNY 1.52 in the same quarter of 2021. More disciplined spending and slowing growth are the main reasons behind the profits in the past few quarters. The profits gives us more confidence and resources to devote to key areas, such as R&D and agriculture initiatives. That said, we expect profits to fluctuate as we spend to meet changing consumer needs. Notably, our profit this quarter narrowed significantly versus last quarter. Our net cash flow used in operating activities was CNY 9.1 billion, compared with outflow of CNY 3.7 billion the same quarter of 2021. Primarily due to changes in working capital as a result of seasonality, offset by an increase in online marketing services revenues.
As of March 31, 2022, the company had CNY 95.2 billion in cash equivalents, and short-term investments. This concludes my prepared remarks.
Thank you, Jun. Next, we will move on to the Q&A session. For today's Q&A session, Lei and Jun will take questions from analysts on the line. We may take a maximum of two questions per analyst. Lei will answer questions in Chinese, and I'll help translate Lei's remarks for ease of reference. Operator, we may now take questions on the line.
Ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin the question and answer session. If you wish to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. If you wish to cancel your request, please press the pound or hash key. Participants are requested to restrict two questions at each time. Your first question comes from Thomas Chong with Jefferies. Please ask your question.
Thanks, management, for taking my questions. My question is about our growth driver in Q1. Given the outbreak of pandemic in recent months, can management share with us some of the thoughts about what we are seeing in terms of the recent monthly trend? On the other hand, can management also comment about the trend in terms of the take rate? Thanks.
Thomas，我先回答一下你的第一个问题，就是有关公司的整个增长速度的问题。
Hi Thomas. Let me address your first question around growth rate.
在过去一段时间，其实我们也一直在调整自身发展的策略，我们开始更加地侧重在研发和农业上的投入。我们希望能够追求一个长时间的、高质量的发展。这种发展方向的调整，要带来效果，是需要一定的努力和需要时间的。那可能我们短期的增速，其实是会受到一些影响。
Over the past period of time, we have been going through adjustments, in development strategies to focus more on technology and agriculture, in order to pursue long term high quality growth. Well, it takes time for the final results to bear fruit. In the process, our growth rate might be affected.
另外，随着我们到了现在这样一个用户规模，我觉得也不应该期待我们会一直保持高速的增长。
In addition, as we reach our current scale, investors should not expect us to continuously deliver high growth.
那我们现在的重点其实核心还是说，更好地服务我们现有的这个八点八亿的用户。那么，以消费者为导向，巩固他们对平台的信任，以及来提升这个用户的心智。那我们希望能通过研发，通过农业方面的投入，通过为消费者创造价值，受到这一。
Well, our development is inseparable from the support of our consumers. As the user base reaches its current scale, our focus now is on how to serve our 880 million users and improve their trust and mindshare to remain to be user centric. We will continue to pay more attention to technology and agri investment and to promote our differentiation in agriculture to help create more values for our consumers.
那么，在这过程中，其实就是说我们保持不变的，会专注这种长期的长期的内生价值。但是，从外在来看，可能会觉得就是我们公司的发展，有时候可能会很激进，有时候可能会很保守。那我建议大家不要过度地去关注这种季度之间的波动，而是更应该关注的是我们现在做的事情，能否产生价值，能够为这个公司带来高质量的这个成长。希望这些能够回答到你的这个关于这个增速和增长的问题。
Well, as we have been communicating, we always remain committed to investing to create long term value. If you look from the outside, at times, we might appear to be overly aggressive or overly conservative sometimes. We recommend you not to pay too much attention to the fluctuations between quarters. Instead, we hope investors would focus on whether what we are doing is generating value and whether it can bring about a high quality development. Hope what I have shared may address your question.
Well, hello Thomas, this is Jun, thank you for your question. I would like to further talk about the take rate you just mentioned. Well, our focus has always been to better serve our users, as just mentioned by Lei. With this being said, take rate or monetization rate is not a metric to focus. Instead, I think it is the natural result. We recommend to not look at quarter to quarter changes. In the long run, our monetization rate depends on how much value we create. For future outlook for monetization, as I said, it really depends on our value creation. One thing we would like to point out is, we started Pinduoduo with a strong agriculture focus from the beginning. We stick to our zero commission policy for agriculture products.
We definitely will continue to support agriculture merchants, for example, offering more traffic exposure. Also, we have communicated before, we will step up investment in agriculture for better consumer experience. Well, as the proportion of agriculture product increases, our monetization rates might be affected. Thank you.
Operator, we will now take questions from the next analyst in the queue.
Your next question comes from Eddy Wang with Morgan Stanley. Please ask your question.
感谢管理层接受我的提问。我这边也是两个问题吧。第一个问题可能是关于竞争的，虽然这是陈磊总之前也说到，我们更加关注于我们自身的这个优势的发展，但是我记得在上次的这个earnings call的时候，你也提到就是说外部的竞争，最近也会越来越多的关注。那现在，电商行业存在着，就我们自己观察存在着一个变化的情况，就是说今年的需求可能都相对来说比较弱，那大家会把这个关注点更多的是在这个利润率方面，而不是在收入方面比较aggressive地去获客。但是这是传统的一些电商平台在做的事情。那同时我们看到就是一些直播电商，反过来，相对来说是比较激进地在扩张和获客。我不知道就像这样的一种行业的格局，在，从我们的角度来看，对我们的影响是什么，然后我们会不会相应地做出一些就是说策略方面的调整。那第二个问题其实是跟这个相关的。陈磊总也提到了，就是说我们其实是，我们的优势，我们的不同的地方可能更多是在农业方面。那我们看到就是说这个之前的百亿农研，然后这个季度整个的这个研发费用的绝对金额有上涨。其实想问一下，就是说咱们现在这个阶段如果看到，今天可能，五月底为止，就百亿农研当中的支出，已经到了一个什么样的程度大概。另外就是说如果再往下一步看的话，就是说在下半年或者在未来一两年，这些农研方面有哪些可能是新的重点我们可以去投入的。那我可能自己先翻译一下。Thank you for taking my question. I have two questions. First is about competition. Will you please share with us your view on China's e-commerce industry competitive landscape?
We witness that on one hand we do see, you know, other e-commerce platforms are adopting a structured cost control and less aggressive in expansion. But on the other hand, we do see some live streaming e-commerce platforms seem still to be very aggressive in the user acquisition and expansion. Just want to hear your view on, you know, the competitive landscape in the e-commerce sector and the impact on PDD. The follow-up question is about the, you know, the CNY 10 billion agriculture new initiatives. What's the proportion of the, you know, the CNY 10 billion have been used so far? What's the next kind of areas we want to invest in the next, maybe one year or two years? Thank you.
你好，Eddie。首先呢，就是有关于你说的这个竞争态势的问题。那经过我的，我认为，就是其实整个电商行业的竞争的态势呢，就现在和三个月之前呢，并没有什么很大的变化。那么其实呢，核心还是说，中国电商行业是一个很大的很有潜力的市场，那么这个随着行业的基础设施的不断发展，那么和消费者需求的不断迭代，就是会有越来越多的企业参与到这个电商这个整个大市场的竞争中来。
Uh, Eddie, so for your question around competition landscape, I think the current landscape versus two, three months ago, it has not changed much. So essentially, China's e-commerce industry is a huge market, and it is full of potential. As in-industry infrastructure continues to develop, and as our consumer needs continue to evolve, more and more companies will join e-commerce.
那我们认为呢，有新的平台、新的模式的涌现，那么从长期来看呢，对消费者来说，或者说对整个行业都是具有正面的影响和价值。
We believe that in the long run, the emergence of new platforms as well as new formats will have a positive impact on consumers and on the industry itself.
那么就我们自身而言，无论是说现在的新冠疫情，以及许多同行在这种环境下，的确应该说是在服务消费者方面做得比我们要好。那我觉得这是我们团队呢，需要去学习的。那我们的团队的确需要更加的努力，踏实地去服务消费者，那么呢，在各种环境下呢，为社会创造价值，那这个呢，我觉得是我们这家企业的本分。
For us, if you look at under the perspective of the recent pandemic, and if you look at the areas where other peers have done well, we think that for ourselves, there is still a lot of room to further improve from our current level of service offerings. This is what our team needs to learn from. Our team needs to work harder and also remain down to earth to serve consumers well and to create value for the society as a whole. This is the duty and responsibility for us as a company.
那如果说我们有什么不一样的地方呢？那就是我们实际上是从农产品开始的。那在我们这个企业发展的道路上呢，农业呢，始终也是我们的核心。我们也非常坚信，在农业这个领域开拓的这样一个广阔的前景。然后我们也跟大家介绍过了，现在也在加大研发投入，尤其呢，是在农业科技方面，我们相信呢，这些投入呢，长期能够为消费者创造更多的价值。
As for our differentiation, well, we started out Pinduoduo with agriculture products. As we develop, agriculture has always been our core. We also firmly believe in the future potential of the agriculture sector. Just as I introduced, we are now stepping up investment in core technology, especially in agriculture technology. We believe in the long run these investments can create more value for consumers.
这里面也顺带回答一下你的第二个问题，就是我们是去年公布的这个百亿农研的专项。那我们当时在公布这个项目的时候呢，我们也说到了，它能够，希望它能够推进这个农业科技的进步，带来科技的普惠，同时呢，也是提高这个农业工作者的这样的一个成就感和获得感。
Here let me also address your second question. We announce the 10 billion agriculture initiative last year. When we announce it, we also mentioned that we hope this initiative can facilitate the advancement of agri-tech, promote digital inclusion and also to make a sense of fulfillment for agri workers and agri scientists.
过去的一年，团队和我都在花很多的时间和精力，来评估项目，也在研究如何把资金用到最需要的地方。
Over the past year, our team and myself have been devoting a lot of time and efforts to diligently evaluate and study various proposals and projects in order to deploy resources to where they are needed the most.
前面呢，我也介绍了一些就是技术为农业赋能的案例，包括说我们的这个多多农业的科技大赛。那与此同时呢，其实我们也在和这个顶尖的农业院校和这个科研机构合作，来共同推进一些研究的项目。
In my previous remarks, I also have given you some examples of how technology empowers agriculture, including our smart agriculture competition. In addition, we are also cooperating with top agronomic universities and research institutions to jointly work on some research projects.
但是应该承认的话，就是通过技能、通过技术来赋能农业呢，其实还是一件需要非常仔细去斟酌、需要有格外耐心的事情，那么需要去横向地对比不同的方案，结合我们在农业领域不断积累的经验，以及我们团队自身的技术背景来进行衡量。
Admittedly, to empower agriculture through technology requires a lot of thinking, deep understanding and actual patience. We need to compare various options side by side and evaluate each options carefully. We have to leverage our past experiences in agriculture as well as our team's technical background to make the best options and choices.
那么在这个领域呢，我们是有些长期的战略的，但是整体来讲呢，投入还是处于一个早期的阶段。但是呢，我觉得对于这么大的一个领域啊，我们应该说是投入的周期也好，那么力度也好呢，都不会受到中短期这样一个波动的影响。希望这些能够帮助你们了解我们公司的在农业方面的一些想法。
Our strategy is long-term and our investment in agriculture are still in an early stage for such a sector of such big scale and impact. Our investment horizon as well as investment scale would not change when there are short- to medium-term fluctuations. Hope what I shared can give you more color around how we think about and what we are doing in terms of our agriculture.
谢谢。
Okay. We now move on to the next analyst.
Your next question comes from Kenneth with Credit Suisse. Please ask your question.
嗨，晚上好。谢谢管理层接受我的提问。好，我有两个问题啊，第一个就是从用户增长方面看到 MAU 以及 AAC，在高基数以下，按季度还是加速增长的。可否跟我们分享一下背后的驱动因素呢？也明白，现在我们这个基数比较大，将来这个增长一定会放缓。可不可以也跟我们分享一下我们应该怎么想将来这个增长趋势，以及这个用户的天花板。第二呢，就是营销成本方面，在我们收入的增长速度在还是快速增长以下呢，我们这个销售的成本也是控制得非常好，按年起数下降。可否分享一下背后的原因，比如说是否在投放的 ROI 的门槛慢慢提高了，以及我们应该怎么想将来这个 sales marketing 将来的趋势。去年我们公司说重心由营销开支慢慢转过去做研发，请问这个过程进展如何？是否已经完成了？那我自己翻译一下。
Thank you management for taking my question. I have two questions please. On user, we notice that despite a high base, AAC and MAU both see accelerating sequential growth. Can you share with us the drivers behind? Understand that we shouldn't expect fast growth given our larger user base. How should we think about user upside and the ceiling? My second question is on the sales and marketing expense. Despite the fast revenue growth, our control over sales and marketing has been very effective with the amount continuing to come down on a year-on-year basis. Can you share with us the reason behind?
For example, is there a change in our ROI threshold for user acquisition and any room for further improvement? Last year, Pinduoduo said that we are shifting from a sales and marketing to R&D focus. Can you also update us on the progress? Should we expect this to be largely finished? Thank you.
Kenneth 你好，我先回答一下，就是有关这个用户数的一些情况。看数字，去年同期这个时候呢，我们的这个年的消费用户和月活跃用户呢，是8.2和7.2亿。那么应该说是一个比较高的基数了。到今年呢，增长为8.8和7.5亿，是有一些增长吧。但是我觉得长期的趋势还是相对清晰的，就是在这个用户规模底下呢，增长放缓的，是尽管说季节之间可能会有波动，但是增长放缓是在所难免，这也是我们在过去几个季度的业绩会上也反复跟大家沟通过这一点。
Well, Kenneth, let me address your question on user number. Let's look at the numbers first. By the Q1 last year our annual active buyers and MAU was approximately 820 million and 720 million respectively. This was already a relatively high base. By the Q1 this year, our AAC and MAU further increased to about 880 million and 750 million. We achieved some growth, but I think the long term trend should be very clear. Though there might be quality fluctuations, I think it is inevitable that our user growth would be slower. Well over the course of the past few quarters, we also have shared this view with you.
在这种情况下，我们看到的机会，或者说我们当前正在完成的任务，就是让已经在使用拼多多的消费者有更好的用户体验，然后他们对拼多多会更加的信任，同时他们会有更深一层次的在拼多多上进行购物的这个心智。
Now the priority that we see and the duty we have to perform right now is to further improve the existing 880 million consumers user experience as well as to improve their trust and solidify their mind share in us.
那么也就是说，我们之前在做的这个发展战略的调整呢，其实核心就是说，通过研发，去发掘就是在这种用户行为的演进，以及整个社会的这种基础架构的这个升级的这样一个演进的过程中，通过研发呢去把握新的、新的服务消费者的机会。
As for the strategic shift we are going through. Basically, amid the changes in infrastructure upgrade and the evolving user needs, what we are doing in terms of investing in technology, is to find opportunities and improve ourselves to serve our users better.
然后，我其实也挺欣慰看到，就是说过去我们通过自己的努力，特别是在农产品方面，我们的确在为消费者创造出了新的价值。
I'm glad to see that, through our efforts, we have indeed created value for consumers, especially in the area of our agricultural produce.
另外一个方面来看，就是说这次的疫情，其实也反映出一些问题，就是说在这种变化的环境下，我们对这个用户需求的理解，以及在跟进这个市场的变化上，还存在着一些说的不好的地方。那么，这个我们也希望能够不断地去理解这个用户新的需求和偏好，提升自己的能力。另外一点，就是说在这个过程中，遇到好的机会，很可能还是需要去做一些坚定的、规模的投入的。所以说，这个反映在未来的财务上，我们的费用，特别是研发方面的费用上升，也还是有可能的。
Another point is that the recent pandemic does show some of the areas that we need to improve. In terms of understanding users' needs and keeping up with the changes in their behaviors and their demand, we need to do better. We will continue to explore the evolving needs and preferences of our users, and to continue enhance our capabilities. In addition, as we explore, when we see good opportunities, we will continue to invest. If we look at the financials, it is possible that our efforts would show up and be reflected in the future financial results as well, especially around technology.
那Kenneth，希望这个我的一些东西能够帮助你们理解我们在用户这边关于用户数和用户增长方面的一些问题哈。
Hope what I just shared may provide you with more color and give you some insights on our user number and its growth going forward.
Okay. Thank you, Kenneth. We take your second question about S& ME expenses. Well, as you just said, we are going through a shift with more focus towards R&D from marketing, and such shift has been in our financial results, as you may see. For example, sales and marketing expenses fell 14% YoY in Q1, which represents 47% of total revenue and down from 59% of Q1 last year. At the same time, R&D expenses increased by 20% Y-o-Y. Well, for every investment, we carefully evaluate the ROI and we allocate resources to generate long-term and high quality development. As always, we will continue our investment discipline.
In addition, in terms of serving user needs, we're not doing well enough, and there's still plenty of room for us to further improve. We need to further explore how to better serve our users. In fact, recent pandemic also shows certain areas for us to improve. As we see good opportunities, we will continue our investments to create more value for our consumers. As a result, the future expenses trend is likely to change. To us, we firmly believe that R&D investment can generate high quality development. We will continue to step up the investment, which will be shown in our financial results. We are still in the investment phase instead of the stable stage.
For financial numbers, we suggest you could look at the long-term trends and the value we create from this investment. Hope the above can clarify your questions. Thank you.
Hi, operator. I think we still have time to take questions from the next analyst, and that will be the last one.
Your last question comes from Natalie Wu with Haitong International. Please ask your question.
Let me quickly translate myself. Two questions from my side. First question is related with the COVID. Just regarding the recent COVID outbreak, can management share more details about how the pandemic has impacted the industry and your operations at Pinduoduo? How much impact has it had on your Q1 results? What is your outlook towards the Q2 results considering current pandemic status? My second question is regarding the profitability. You have delivered meaningful profits on both GAAP and non-GAAP basis for four consecutive quarters. Just wondering, at current stage, are you now prioritizing profitability over growth? Should the investors expect quarterly earnings to be the norm? Thank you.
你好。就是我先回答一下，就是关于这个疫情对我们公司的影响。那我觉得呢，其实这个疫情对我们最大的影响其实就是呢，是通过这次疫情啊，就是明显我们还是感觉到是说，这个公司在啊整个运作方面呢，还是缺乏一些韧性的，还是存在一些不足的。那这个其实上呢，在很多方面呢，是存在的，很大的这个提升的空间。
Natalie, so let me take your question on how the pandemic has affected us and our operations. Well, I think one area that the pandemic has shown us is that, for our business, we need to be able to be more resilient. There are certain areas that we need to further improve, especially in terms of how we can effectively meet users' needs.
那么就是在这样的环境呢，就是如何能够更好地来服务消费者，在这个方面呢，其实有很多同行都有很多值得我们学习的地方。
On the current situation, I think our peers have shown certain aspects that we may also learn from.
Pinduoduo 其实是一个比较专注于用户这种日常生活需求这样一个电商的企业。那么，在疫情期间，其实我们也在积极地利用这个我们自己的特点，然后做一些为消费者服务的事情。这里可以举一些例子，那么就是在上海的话，其实我们上线了一个四十八小时的这个保温套餐，它其实是通过我们这样即采即配的方式，满足尽可能多的消费者的这样一个基本的物资的需求。
Pinduoduo is an e-commerce company that focuses on the essential needs of users. During the pandemic, we are also actively leveraging our differentiation to create a value for consumers and to fulfill our social responsibilities. Here, let me give you some examples. First, in Shanghai, we launched a 48-hour supply packages for Shanghai residents.
Through aggregating their ordering and the fulfillment staff, we strive to meet the basic needs from as many households as possible.
同时呢，我们也在这个相关部门的指导下呢，全力为这个医护防疫的人员以及需要特殊帮助的人群呢，提供物资的保障。那么这些呢，其实都是我们在疫情期间呢，利用我们自身的特点做的一些事情。
In addition, on the guidance of relevant governmental departments, we have made efforts to provide supplies for medical personnel and people in need. These are some areas which we have been working on by leveraging our differentiation and our value proposition.
但是从另外一个方面呢，就是我觉得一起也看到了，就是在这个过程中呢，其实我们的公司里面有很多比较年轻的团队成员，在处理这种很多紧急的实际问题中呢，快速地成长起来。那应该说他们是奋战在第一线，包括说去组织货源，去克服保证过程中的种种基础上的问题，运营上的问题。他们承担了更多的责任和挑战。那这个呢，让我对我们团队的潜力呢，是更加的充满了信心。这应该说是在疫情期间我看到的一个，就是表现出来一个让我觉得对我们公司未来的发展呢，会更加有信心的这样一个观察吧。
Another important point that I want to make during this pandemic time is that we also see many young talents rising up to challenges. They are growing up rapidly in the face of these real world challenges. They are proactively securing good supply. They provide technical support to assist fulfillment. They are also solving some of the operational difficulties. They are taking on more and more responsibilities and challenges. From this, I'm confident in the potential of our team. Based on what I just said, what I see really has given me more conviction in how our team would perform and in the young talent from our team.
最后还要补充一点，就是在特殊的时间，的确看到了农业以及农产品供应链，作为一个基础的、促进每个人生活的这个行业的重要性，就是这种具有韧性的供应链的重要性。那让我意识到，就是说我们在农业上的长期的和持续的投入，是非常重要的，而且需要有非常耐心的长期的去持续性的投入。希望以上，大概是对这个整个疫情对我们公司带来的影响的一些我的思考吧。
To add on one more point, during such special times, we also see that agriculture and the agriculture supply chain is so essential and the importance of having a very resilient agriculture supply chain. Our long term investment in agriculture is particularly important. Hope what I've just shared around this point can give you some more color around our take on agriculture.
Well, thanks for your second question about profitability. First, I would like to point out, it is not our current priority. Over this past few quarters, our profits were mainly due to our operating leverage, especially from sales and marketing. As mentioned, last quarter, we have also controlled our spending in the face of lower growth. Under current intensified competition, we also see we still have meaningful room to improve in terms of, satisfying users. The recent pandemic also shows that. We need to step up our investments, and it may cause our quarterly profit fluctuate in the future. As you may see, this quarter's profit has decreased sequentially versus last quarter. Meanwhile, the profitability over past few quarters also gives us greater confidence to continue our long term investments. We hope that everyone will focus more on the value we generate. Thank you.
Okay. Thank you everyone for joining us on the conference call today. If you have further questions, please feel free to reach out to our IR team. Thank you. Have a great day.
Ladies and gentlemen, that does conclude our conference for today. Thank you for participating. You may all disconnect.