Meituan’s Revenue Beats Estimates, Withstands Covid-Zero Fallout
2022.06.02 14:45
Meituan’s Revenue Beats Estimates, Withstands Covid-Zero Fallout
(Bloomberg) — Meituan’s quarterly revenue grew 25%, after the Chinese food delivery titan withstood the economic fallout from coronavirus-related lockdowns in cities such as Shanghai.
Sales for the three months ended in March climbed to 46.27 billion yuan ($6.9 billion), according to the company’s filing on Thursday. While that exceeds the market estimate of 45.3 billion yuan, it represents the company’s slowest quarterly growth in almost two years. Net loss was 5.7 billion yuan, versus the net loss of 6 billion yuan projected by analysts.
Beijing-based Meituan is one of the few Chinese tech companies that appears to have maintained its momentum in a challenging macro environment. China’s retail sales in April contracted 11.1% from a year ago, underscoring the impact of a Covid Zero policy that’s snarled the country’s supply chains and hammered consumer sentiment. Led by high-profile billionaire Wang Xing, the company is also under scrutiny over the welfare of its delivery riders and the commissions it charges restaurants.
China has declared victory over Shanghai’s coronavirus outbreak as the nation reported its fewest new cases in more than three months, vindicating Covid Zero in the eyes of Beijing despite the policy’s rising economic toll. Yet uncertainty persists because of the readiness with which the government is expected to clamp down on any future outbreaks, with unknown consequences.
Meituan’s (HK:3690) shares closed down 1.3% in Hong Kong before the earnings announcement. The company’s share price has shed about 20% this year.
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.
