Chinese delivery giant Meituan sees revenue surge 28 per cent as lockdowns boost online ordering across the country

Meituan reported a 28 per cent increase in revenue for the September quarter, as the on-demand services giant brushed off a slowing economy and weak consumer sentiment.

Beijing-based Meituan, which runs the country’s largest food delivery platform, said on Friday revenue rose to 62.62 billion yuan (US$8.74 billion) for the third quarter. It turned in a profit of 1.2 billion yuan, ending seven straight quarters of losses.

Average annual orders placed by active users grew to 39.5 from 34.4 year-on-year, reflecting a growing stickiness for Meituan services among its users. The firm has around a 70 per cent share of China’s food delivery market.

Snap lockdowns across the country to combat outbreaks of Covid-19 over the quarter prompted many Chinese people to migrate to online platforms, including Meituan, to secure food supplies.

Speaking on an earnings call with analysts on Friday, CFO Shaohui Chen said that despite some refinement of pandemic-control measures, the impact of Covid on its business “would be heavier in the next quarter” than the current one.

Speaking about Meituan’s global expansion, CEO Wang Xing said in the earnings call that the company had started this in Hong Kong, as the market “shares many similarities with [mainland China] including food habits”. But he acknowledged that delivery models would vary in the two markets.