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Chinese food delivery and on-demand service giant Meituan on Friday reported a 22.4 per cent gain in revenue in the third quarter on the back of strong growth in its core local commerce business, boosted by demand for its discounted meals.
Revenue for the three months ended September 30 reached 93.6 billion yuan (US$12.9 billion), up from 76.5 billion yuan a year earlier, helped by supply-chain upgrades that improved efficiency in on-demand deliveries, the Beijing-based company said.
Adjusted net profit for the quarter jumped 124 per cent year on year to 12.8 billion yuan.
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"In the third quarter, our on-demand delivery business continued to grow steadily," the company said in its earnings statement. "We improved our product formats, penetrated deeper into the industry supply chain, and helped merchants enhance efficiency."
A Meituan delivery worker at a shopping mall in Beijing. Photo: Reuters alt=A Meituan delivery worker at a shopping mall in Beijing. Photo: Reuters>
Meituan's core local commerce operations - which includes its bread-and-butter on-demand food and grocery delivery business, as well as hotel and travel bookings and merchant marketing services - raked in 69.4 billion yuan, a 20.2 per cent increase from a year earlier.
Meituan's shares closed at HK$168.7 on Friday, down 2 per cent.
The company has been cautiously exploring overseas markets, as the Chinese market continues to struggle under a sputtering economy.
Its international food delivery arm Keeta, which made its debut outside the mainland last year in Hong Kong, swiftly rose to become the city's second-largest food delivery service in May this year, thanks to a combination of generous subsidies and speedy deliveries, taking a page from its mainland playbook.
After its initial success in Hong Kong, Meituan brought Keeta to Saudi Arabia, where the service has launched in the capital Riyadh and central city Al-Kharj.
This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
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