Zhang Yong's First Answer Sheet After Returning to Haidilao: Full-Year 2025 Revenue of 43.225 Billion Yuan

21st Century Business Herald Reporter Liu Jingxi

On March 24, 2026, Haidilao (06862) announced its full-year 2025 results.

The announcement shows that in 2025, Haidilao’s total revenue was 43.22 billion yuan, a 1.1% increase from the previous year; core operating profit was 5.4 billion yuan, down 13.3% year-on-year; and net profit was 4.04 billion yuan, down 14.0% year-on-year.

Meanwhile, the group’s diversified business growth was impressive, with delivery service revenue reaching 2.658 billion yuan, a 111.9% increase; other restaurant operation revenue reaching 1.521 billion yuan, a 214.6% increase.

This is the first annual report since founder Zhang Yong returned to Haidilao. Profit declined, table turnover rate decreased, but revenue slightly increased, and the delivery business and multi-brand plans are beginning to show results.

Revenue of 43.225 billion yuan, slight YoY increase

Despite a decline in customer flow, Haidilao’s overall revenue barely maintained positive growth.

Looking at core operational data, in 2025, Haidilao’s revenue was 43.225 billion yuan, a 1.1% increase year-on-year. At the same time, core operating profit was 5.403 billion yuan, down 13.3%; net profit was 4.042 billion yuan, down 14.0%; the overall table turnover rate for self-operated Haidilao restaurants was 3.9 times per day, compared to 4.1 times per day in 2024; total customer visits reached 3.839 billion, a 7.5% decrease from the previous year.

In response, the company stated that factors such as changes in table turnover rate and adjustments in product and scene innovation models affected the fluctuations in profit, core operating profit, table turnover rate, and customer visits compared to last year.

Regarding store numbers, Haidilao is shrinking its self-operated store scale while expanding franchise stores. By the end of the year, Haidilao operated a total of 1,383 restaurants, with franchise stores increasing to 79, and self-operated restaurants totaling 1,304. Eighteen self-operated restaurants were closed or relocated due to underperformance, commercial landmark relocation, or outdated facilities.

This outcome was predictable, as the restaurant industry has yet to rebound from the bottom.

According to the latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics, in 2025, the national catering revenue reached 5.7982 trillion yuan, a 3.2% increase year-on-year, accounting for 11.6% of total retail sales of consumer goods, up 0.2 percentage points from last year. However, growth in catering consumption remains weak, with catering revenue increasing by only 3.2%, the first time in three years that it lagged behind the retail sales growth rate of 3.7%.

But the trend is improving. From the full-year segmented data, operational improvements in the second half of 2025 were stronger than in the first half.

Breaking down the semi-annual and annual reports, several key operational indicators for Haidilao showed marginal improvement in the second half of 2025. Revenue YoY shifted from a 3.7% decline in the first half to a 5.9% increase in the second half; group restaurant operating income YoY narrowed from a 6.9% decline to a 2.0% decline; main brand Haidilao restaurant operating income YoY narrowed from a 9.0% decline to a 5.1% decline; core operating profit YoY decline also narrowed from 14.0% to 12.7%. Meanwhile, customer visits in the second half increased by about 4.3 million compared to the first half, and table turnover rates rebounded.

Similar to other chain restaurant giants (such as Yum China and McDonald’s), Haidilao is actively expanding its delivery business to respond to market changes, and has already achieved growth in this area. In 2025, delivery became one of Haidilao’s faster-growing segments, with annual delivery revenue reaching 2.658 billion yuan, a 111.9% increase, mainly driven by rapid growth in the “rice bowl” meal segment.

Haidilao stated in its announcement that delivery has become an important pillar of the group’s revenue growth. Currently, over 1,200 delivery outlets have been established nationwide, and partnerships with major delivery platforms are in place. The company is also continuously developing new products suitable for delivery scenarios and supporting other brands under the Hong Shi Liu plan to explore delivery services.

“Other restaurants” revenue reaches 1.521 billion yuan

“Other restaurants” refer to a series of sub-brands incubated under the “Hong Shi Liu plan.” In recent years, consumer-facing brands such as Yanqing BBQ and Xiao Hi Ai Fried have emerged, all originating from the “Hong Shi Liu plan.”

As the “second growth curve” driving overall group revenue, since its proposal in 2025, after a year of exploration, the “Hong Shi Liu plan” has begun to show results. By the end of 2025, revenue from other restaurants increased by 214.6% to 1.521 billion yuan from 490 million yuan in 2024, accounting for 3.5% of total revenue, a significant increase from last year. As of the end of 2025, the group successfully operated 20 sub-brands covering seafood stalls, sushi, Western light meals, small hot pots, and Chinese fast food.

Notably, Haidilao restructured the rules of the Hong Shi Liu plan in 2025, forming a dual incubation system of “Head Chef” and “Common People’s Kitchen.”

The “Head Chef” system focuses on employee entrepreneurship, while the “Common People’s Kitchen” system is more driven by headquarters-led planning and incubation projects. Haidilao aims to stimulate internal entrepreneurial potential through “Head Chef” and promote multi-category, multi-level market coverage via “Common People’s Kitchen,” further enhancing the efficiency of collaborative development of entrepreneurial projects.

As Haidilao enters a new stage of multi-format and multi-brand development, coordination among different business segments has become a new management focus, demanding higher governance and management capabilities from senior executives. Against this backdrop, earlier this year, founder Zhang Yong returned to the company as CEO to drive business optimization and adjustment.

Overall, Haidilao, currently in a “transformation period,” faces short-term pains such as declining table turnover and profit pressure, but its multi-brand strategy provides support for long-term sustainable development.

On March 6, Everbright Securities issued a research report stating that Haidilao’s unexpectedly strong operating data during the 2026 Spring Festival fully demonstrated its resilience and leading position; combined with management efficiency improvements after leadership change, growth potential from new categories, and high dividend value support, the company’s short-term performance and long-term logic are reinforced, maintaining a “Buy” rating for Haidilao (06862).

Based on the group’s 2025 operational results, the Haidilao board of directors recommends a final cash dividend of HKD 0.384 per share for the year ending December 31, 2025.