Due to the pandemic, Haidilao, a Chinese hotpot restaurant chain, lost CNY 965 million in the first half of 2020. Although the overall net profit has declined, Haidilao's full-year net profit has actually increased in the second half of the year. The average table turnover rate in the second half of 2020 has also rebounded to more than 75% of the same period in 2019.
On the evening of March 23, Haidilao released its annual earnings report for 2020. The firm achieved operating revenue of CNY 28.614 billion in 2020, up 7.8% year-on-year. However, its 2020 net profit was only CNY 310 million, a huge slump compared with the last fiscal year.
Overall, Haidilao restaurants achieved revenue of CNY 27.434 billion in 2020, accounting for 95.9% of total revenue. Revenue from the takeaway business rose from CNY 449 million in 2019 to CNY 718 million in 2020, a 60% year-on-year increase. The revenue share also rose from 1.7% to 2.5%, mainly due to the rise in takeout orders.
The company's restaurant network expansion was the main driver of overall revenue growth. It opened 544 new stores, making a total of 1,298 stores worldwide in 2020. The increased stores also created more jobs, with the total number of employees exceeding 130,000 people.
For the full year of 2020, Haidilao restaurants served over 250 million customers; however, the average table turnover rate decreased significantly, from 4.8 times/day to 3.5 times/day; customer spending per capita increased from USD 105.2 in 2019 to USD 110.1 in 2020, and Haidilao membership exceeded 71 million.
In terms of employee salaries, starting from the third quarter of 2020, Haidilao began to increase the standard of base salary for frontline employees in mainland China stores. Depending on different cities across the country, the base salary standard will also be adjusted.
Haidilao said that, in the future, it would further expand its restaurant network, increase restaurant coverage density, and continue to promote investment in innovation and new technology. The company's plan is to continue optimizing and developing business management systems and smart restaurant technology to enhance user experience.