Image Source : China Visual

BEIJING, September 5 (TMTPOST) – Listed restaurant companies have reported lackluster financial results for the first half of this year due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

For many, revenues declined and profits were under pressure. Some companies even experienced the first loss since their listing.

Under the dismal operation, catering companies reduce costs by closing stores,, opening smaller ones, and expanding revenue beyond dine-in through takeaway and membership.

Since March 2022, the pandemic has been circulating in many places, impacting offline customer flow and affecting the number of days restaurants are open. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics show that national restaurant revenue fell 16.39% year-on-year in March, and the decline further dropped to 22.74% and 21.97% in April and May. As the pandemic situation improved, restaurant revenue fell 4% and 1.52% in June and July, respectively.

The performance of national catering companies all declined significantly. Yum China (09987.HK), which owns KFC and Pizza Hut, saw its first-half revenue decline 13% to US$2.13 billion, with adjusted net profit down 55% year-over-year. Same-store sales fell more than 20%. From April to May, Yum China temporarily closed or offered take-out only at more than 2,500 stores nationwide, accounting for 20% of the total.

Haidilao (06862.HK), the leading hot pot company in China, saw its revenue fall 16.57% to 16.764 billion yuan ($2.48 billion) in the first half of the year, with its net loss of 267 million yuan ($39.5 million). Its same-store sales fell 10.6% year-on-year, the entire mainland China market experiencing declines of varying magnitudes, except for overseas markets, where growth was maintained.

In addition to the direct impact of the pandemic, Haidilao has massively closed underperforming stores since the end of 2021, and as of the end of the second quarter of 2022, it had 1,435 stores, a decrease of 162 stores from the last year.