Meituan’s revenue soars 22% as demand for discounted meals boosts local commerce

The Chinese food delivery giant’s revenue for the September quarter reached 93.6 billion yuan

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Meituan’s signature yellow delivery bikes. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 5:36pm, 29 Nov 2024Updated: 8:35pm, 29 Nov 2024

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.

“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.”

Meituan’s shares closed at HK$168.7 on Friday, down 2 per cent.

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.