① Zhang Deqin did not give a clear answer to the shareholders' biggest concern about increasing dividends; he only stated that the interests of the majority state-owned shareholders and Maotai's small and medium shareholders were the same; ② After taking office as Chairman of Maotai, Zhang Deqin said that competition between Xi Jiu and Maotai will intensify in the future; ③ In response to the price increase issue, Zhang Deqin said that to comprehensively consider the consumer environment and market sustainability, the company will carefully study and carefully investigate to make a judgment.
Financial Services Association, May 29 (Reporter Zhu Wanping) Today, the “king” of A-shares, Kweichow Moutai (600519.SH) held the largest annual shareholders' meeting in recent years. The number of shareholders attending the meeting exceeded 1,700, a record high since 2019. Since the number of registered participants exceeded the capacity of the original conference venue, Kweichow Moutai issued an announcement two days ago to adjust the venue to the Maotai Conference Center within the Maotai factory area.
According to reports, among shareholders' questions collected by the company through online channels before the meeting, increasing the recommended retail price of Flying Maotai, the progress of innovative businesses such as Maotai ice cream and sauce-flavored lattes, and the Maotai Group's “one game of chess” strategy were common concerns of shareholders.
During the shareholders' meeting exchange session, the company's management responded to issues such as dividends, price increases, internationalization, and shareholders' alcohol purchases. This conference was the “debut” of Maotai Group Chairman Zhang Deqin since taking office. There were few “dry stories” in response, leaving an impression on the outside world that he was more humble and low-mannered.
(Photo by Zhu Wanping, Finance Association reporter at Kweichow Moutai's 2023 Annual Shareholders' Meeting)
Zhang Deqin did not give a clear answer to the shareholders' biggest concern about increasing the dividend ratio; he only stated that the Guizhou Provincial State-owned Assets Administration Commission, which is the majority shareholder of the company, and the interests of small and medium shareholders are the same.
Shareholders of Kweichow Moutai requested an increase in the dividend ratio. Apart from policy incentives, the main thing is that the company's regular dividend rate has remained at 51.9% in recent years, while Wuliangye (000858.SZ) and Yanghe (002304.SZ) in the same industry have all increased their regular dividend rates, and Yanghe Shares's regular dividend rate has even increased to 70%. Meanwhile, Kweichow Moutai's net profit reached 77.734 billion yuan last year, the highest level in history. At the same time, by the end of last year, the total amount of monetary funds on the company's accounts and funds stored in the industry exceeded 172 billion yuan.
However, in the past two years, in addition to regular dividends, Kweichow Moutai has paid special dividends. Among them, in 2023, after implementing regular dividends of 32.549 billion yuan, the company paid a special dividend of 24.01 billion yuan.
However, with Maotai's regular dividend rate not increasing this year, shareholders, including private equity mogul Lin Yuan, expressed great concern about whether Maotai will continue the special dividend policy after the “change of command.” Maotai's management did not give a clear response to this.
Over the past few years, Kweichow Moutai has been expanding its direct sales ratio, which has greatly increased the company's profits. Last year, Kweichow Moutai's direct sales channel (note: self-operated and “i-Moutai” e-commerce platform) achieved revenue of 67.233 billion yuan, an increase of 36.16% over the previous year, and the share of direct sales channels increased to 45.67%. whereas
In recent years, the question of how to coordinate the development of Maotai's direct sales and distribution channels has attracted market attention. Shortly after Zhang Deqin took office, he repeatedly stated that Maotai dealers are members of Maotai's family and an indispensable key force for Maotai. In the future, Maotai will continue to respect and care for dealers. This move seems to indicate that in the future, Maotai will probably pay more attention to distribution channels. Will this have an impact on direct sales volume? In response, Maotai management stated that direct sales will not be cut for no reason.
(Photo by CFA reporter Zhu Wanping, Zhang Deqin speaking at the shareholders' meeting)
When former Ding Xiongjun was at the helm, the Maotai Group implemented the “big group, one game of chess” strategy, which was also subject to some controversy. Under this strategy, Maotai dealers are required to distribute other wine products (such as Maotai wine, health wine, blueberry wine, etc.) within the Maotai Group's unlisted company system. If dealers fail to complete the task, Maotai Feitian's share will even be deducted, which causes dissatisfaction among some dealers.
However, according to the Financial Services Association reporter, Kweichow Moutai is currently considering adjusting related policies. For example, the company will respect dealers and no longer strongly require dealers to underwrite unprofitable products, including Maotai Group's “One Game of Chess” products and peripheral products from the past few years, such as Taiyuan wine, Maotai wine, etc., and Maotai ice cream.
In the eyes of the outside world, Zhang Deqin seems to encourage competition within the Maotai Group even more in the future. At the shareholders' meeting, he said that he had told the Guizhou Xijiu core team that competition between Xi Jiu and Maotai will intensify in the future, and they need to be prepared to meet the challenge.
Furthermore, Maotai's further marketization is also the focus of Maotai's shareholders' attention. After a lapse of six years, in November of last year, Kweichow Moutai raised the factory price of the Flying Moutai (53 degrees, 500ml) to 1,169 yuan/bottle for the first time, but the official recommended retail price remained at 1,499 yuan/bottle. Much attention has also been paid to when Maotai can raise the recommended retail price to reduce the gap between it and the current market price of 2,500 yuan/bottle or more. In response, Zhang Deqin said that the issue of price increases should take into account the consumer environment and market resistance, and the company will carefully study and carefully investigate to make a judgment.
It is worth mentioning that recently, the market price of Flying Moutai has continued to drop. Currently, the wholesale reference price of Maotai liquor has dropped to around 2,535 yuan/bottle. On e-commerce platforms such as Pinduoduo, the price of Maotai liquor has even dropped below 2,500 yuan/bottle. In response, Maotai management believes that the issue of price fluctuations in the Maotai liquor market should be viewed from a comprehensive perspective. There are many factors affecting commodity prices, such as capital, product, and macro factors. It is necessary to correctly analyze the reasons affecting the terminal price of Maotai liquor, take the right countermeasures, not be affected in the short term, focus on the future, and adhere to the long-term principle.