Shares of Haidilao International, a Chinese hotpot restaurant operator, gained 7% in Hong Kong trading on Wednesday following the release of the company’s interim financial results. The results disclosed on Tuesday showed strong performance in certain business segments despite mixed performance overall.
The company reported revenue growth of 7.9% year-on-year to 22.34 billion yuan ($3.32 billion) for the six-month period ending in June. Core operating profit, measured on a non-IFRS basis, increased 4.4% to 2.51 billion yuan. The delivery business segment emerged as a major growth driver, with revenue more than doubling to 2.05 billion yuan, reflecting an increase of 121.2%. This expansion was attributed to rapid growth in single-serving fast-food offerings and broader extension of the delivery network through additional local distribution hubs.
Revenue from Haidilao-branded hotpot restaurants, which represented 79.9% of group sales, declined 4% to 17.84 billion yuan, primarily reflecting a reduction in the number of company-operated locations. The company operated 1,389 restaurants under its flagship hotpot brand as of June’s end, along with 183 restaurants across 21 alternative catering concepts. The other restaurant operations segment saw particularly strong growth, with revenue surging 113.1% to 1.27 billion yuan, driven by development of new dining formats under the “Pomegranate Plan” initiative and contributions from specialized hotpot concepts including camping and late-night formats.
Haidilao indicated that its seafood-stall hotpot and sushi concepts have reached operational maturity and are entering a phase of broader expansion. The company plans to implement large-scale replication of these formats from the second half of the year forward, positioning them as meaningful contributors to revenue growth in 2027. Citibank analysts noted that operating profit before other income rose 13% annually, exceeding their forecast by 6%, and maintained a buy rating on the stock.
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