① In the first half of the year, the net income of Wuliangye slightly exceeded the forecast of most brokerages, and the revenue growth rate was in line with the company's target guidance at the beginning of the year. ② As of the end of June this year, Wuliangye's contracted liabilities were 8.158 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 123%, and a 61% increase compared to the end of Q1 this year. ③ In the first half of 2024, Wuliangye did not break the norm and still maintained no interim dividends.
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Caixin Media, August 28th (Reporter Zhu Wanping): In the first half of 2024, the net profit of Wuliangye (000858.SZ) slightly exceeded the forecast of most brokerages, and the revenue growth rate was in line with the company's target guidance at the beginning of the year.
In addition, as of the end of June, the company's contracted liabilities have shown significant growth in both year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter data, which is not easy in the context of weak consumption. However, in the first half of 2024, the company did not break the norm and still maintained no interim dividends.
Tonight, Wuliangye released its interim report for 2024, with operating income of 50.648 billion yuan in the first half of the year, a year-on-year increase of 11.3%; and a net profit attributable to the parent company of 19.057 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 11.86%.
At the beginning of the year, Wuliangye set its development goal for 2024 as "continuing to maintain double-digit steady growth in total operating income." Now it seems that Wuliangye's performance in the first half of the year is in line with the target guidance.
Overall, the net income of Wuliangye in the first half of the year also slightly exceeded the expectations of most brokerages. According to statistics from Caixin Media, including Huachuang Securities, GTJA, China Merchants Securities, HTSC, Guosen Securities, and other 12 brokerages, the forecast for Wuliangye's net income in the first half of the year is generally expected to increase by 10% to 11.7% year-on-year.
In terms of products, the revenue of Wuliangye's products in the first half of this year was 39.205 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of approximately 11.45%; while the revenue of other alcoholic products (Wuliang strong-flavor liquor, fruit wine, rice wine, and ecological wine, etc.) reached 7.906 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 17.77%.
In terms of sales volume and price breakdown, Wuliangye Yibin's products achieved a sales volume of 24,194 tons in the first half of the year, a year-on-year increase of 12.07%, with a price of 1.62 million yuan per ton, essentially unchanged from the same period last year; other liquor products achieved a sales volume of 54,156 tons, a year-on-year decrease of 23.86%. The company stated that this is mainly due to Wuliang Nong Xiang's continuous focus on medium to high-priced products, leading to a decrease in sales volume of low-priced products. The price per ton of other liquor products is 0.146 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 54.67%.
Contract liabilities are an important reference indicator for liquor industry performance, demonstrating a liquor company's potential for sustainable growth. As of the end of June this year, Wuliangye Yibin's contract liabilities amounted to 8.158 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 123%, 61% higher compared to the end of Q1 this year. Both year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter data for contract liabilities have shown good performance, to a certain extent reflecting strong willingness of merchants to make payments, demonstrating confidence in Wuliangye under the current circumstances.
Since the beginning of this year, the overall price of Wuliangye Yibin's core product, the 8th Generation Wuliangye, has been generally stable with slight increase. Data from the Fine Wine Nation APP shows that at the start of this year, the 8th Generation Wuliangye (52% alcohol, 500ml) was priced at 935 yuan per bottle, dropping to a low of 905 yuan per bottle at one point and rising to a high of 965 yuan per bottle, showing overall price stability. As of now, the bulk price of Wuliangye remains at 935 yuan per bottle, basically the same as the beginning of the year.
The relatively stable bulk pricing of Wuliangye this year is related to changes in the company's product deployment strategy. In February this year, after Jiang Jia took over as the new sales responsible person for Wuliangye and became the company's deputy general manager, he proposed to reduce the market deployment proportion of the 8th Generation Wuliangye in the Wuliangye brand, planning only to reduce but not increase the volume, and to control the shipment pace throughout the year by deploying 40%, 20%, 30%, and 10% respectively each quarter. In terms of product strategy, Wuliangye has revived the 45% and 68% Wuliangye varieties this year, introducing premium Wuliangye, aiming to create multiple billion-dollar single products. For example, in July this year, Wuliangye launched the "Classic Wuliangye" series, benchmarking Flying Moutai and 30-year and 50-year aged Moutai, with a sales target of around 1 billion yuan this year. By enriching the high-end product line, Wuliangye ensures steady growth in performance on one hand and reduces the sales pressure on the core product, 52% Wuliangye, on the other.
In addition to the relatively stable prices, it was learned from Caishare reporters that in the first half of this year, the sales of the 8th Generation Wuliangye (52% alcohol, 500ml) have also shown a stable increase. Furthermore, the two major single products of Wuliangye, 1618 and the 39% Wuliangye, have achieved both increased sales and banquet activities through a combination of "banquet events + QR code red envelopes + terminal rankings."
Apart from the relatively stable prices, according to Caishare reporters, this year, the sales of the 8th Generation Wuliangye (52% alcohol, 500ml) have also shown a stable increase. In addition, the two major single products of Wuliangye, the 1618 and 39% Wuliangye, have achieved double growth through a combination of banquet activities, QR code red envelopes, and terminal rankings.
With stable performance and relatively stable prices of core products, Wuliangye's stock price has outperformed the industry this year. As of today, Wuliangye has fallen by a cumulative 15.73%, the smallest decline among the 20 liquor stocks in A shares; while the other 19 liquor stocks have declined by 17%-60%, and the CSI Liquor Index has fallen by 29% during the same period.