On August 15, Guizhou Maotai Co., Ltd. (Maotai) announced that its operating income had increased in the first half of this year, but the net profit had decreased by 1.95% compared to the same period last year, showing a phenomenon of increased revenue but decreased profit, leading to disappointment in Maotai’s performance in the market.
Maotai released its “2026 Semi-Annual Report” on the 15th of August. The report revealed that in the first half of the year, the company’s total operating income was 92.278 billion yuan, a 1.3% increase year-on-year; while the net profit attributable to the shareholders of the listed company was 44.517 billion yuan, a decrease of 1.95% compared to the same period last year.
According to data from the Wind data service provider, this is the first time Maotai has experienced a decline in semi-annual net profit since 2015.
The announcement also showed that Maotai’s second-quarter total operating income and net profit both decreased. During the period, the total operating income was 37.575 billion yuan, a 5.23% decrease year-on-year; and the net profit attributable to the shareholders was 17.274 billion yuan, a 6.9% decrease year-on-year, with a significant quarter-on-quarter decline of 36%.
Industry commentator Xiao Zhuqing defended Maotai, stating to The Paper, “This half-year report is a very realistic report in the process of Maotai’s channel structural reform. The slight increase in revenue and the slight decline in profit are not due to product sales issues, but rather the restructuring of the channel system causing temporary pain. It also reflects the entire Baijiu industry entering a period of competition in existing stock, with industry leaders bidding farewell to the era of high growth.”
Although Xiao Zhuqing provided an explanation for the decline in Maotai’s net profit, there are still criticisms in the market regarding Maotai’s performance.
According to Huaxia Times on August 15, the market had high expectations for Maotai’s performance in the second quarter. When Maotai announced a price increase at the end of March, it was widely believed that the new prices would lead to increased profits in the second quarter. However, looking at the final financial reports, the expected profit increase did not materialize, and Maotai’s market-oriented marketing reform is attempting to redistribute the benefits in the industry chain. The extent to which these changes will impact the weak end market remains an unresolved question.
An industry insider told Huaxia Times that in the short-term industry dynamics, it has become a common practice for top liquor brands to slightly raise prices before the Mid-Autumn Festival and the National Day holiday. Major liquor brands are currently adjusting prices in a range of 10 to 20 yuan per bottle during this peak season, not driven by a recovery in consumption but as a passive operation to capture the pre-holiday consumption hype and marginally repair profits.
The industry insider stated, “The industry generally predicts that after the Mid-Autumn Festival and the National Day holiday, market consumption will naturally decline, and product prices are likely to enter a downward trend again. Therefore, the industry’s common choice is to slightly raise prices before the holiday, targeting temporary profits.” However, the support for high-end liquor prices is not strong enough at present, and the industry as a whole has not yet emerged from a weak adjustment period.