The myth of high growth at Aesthetic Medical is no more: revenue and net profit growth rates have fallen into single digits for the first time, with both of its two core products under pressure.

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On September 28, 2020, Aimeike was listed on the ChiNext with a market value of 40.8 billion yuan. Within nine months, its stock price quadrupled, and by March 2021, it became the third stock after Kweichow Moutai to reach a thousand yuan per share, with a peak market value surpassing 170 billion yuan. Known as the “Medical Aesthetics Moutai,” this company wrote a legend in the capital market with a super-high gross profit margin of 94.85% and a net profit margin of 60% during the golden age of medical aesthetics.

The core secret to Aimeike’s success lies in the moat built by three types of medical device registration certificates. Its flagship product, “Hi-Body,” as the first domestic neck wrinkle repair injection, has monopolized the market since its approval in 2016. Between 2017 and 2020, revenue from solution products soared from 34 million yuan to 447 million yuan, with an average annual compound growth rate of 129%. This “market monopoly + pricing power” model perfectly replicates the core logic of Kweichow Moutai. However, as similar competitors continue to emerge, Aimeike’s high-growth myth is gradually coming to an end.

**　The high-growth myth is fading: revenue and net profit growth rates have fallen to single digits for the first time**

The annual report disclosed on March 19 shows that Aimeike achieved a revenue of 3.026 billion yuan in 2024, with a year-over-year growth rate plummeting from 47.99% in 2023 to 5.45%; net profit attributable to shareholders was 1.958 billion yuan, with growth dropping from 47.08% to 5.33%. This is the first time since 2016 that the company’s annual revenue and net profit growth rates have fallen into single digits.

Particularly noteworthy is that in the fourth quarter, the company’s revenue was 650 million yuan and net profit was 372 million yuan, down 7% and 15.47% year-over-year respectively, marking the first quarterly decline since listing. Looking at previous quarterly data, signs of growth slowdown had already appeared. In the first quarter of 2024, revenue growth was 28.24%, and net profit growth was 27.38%; in the second quarter, revenue growth was 2.35%, and net profit growth was 8.03%; in the third quarter, revenue growth was 1.10%, and net profit growth was 2.13%. Overall, the growth rate has been declining quarter by quarter in 2024.

From the cash flow perspective, the net cash flow from operating activities in 2024 was 1.927 billion yuan, a decrease of 1.38% year-over-year, marking the first decline in comparison. The reasons include a significant increase in operating expenses and rising inventory. Operating expenses in 2024 included sales expenses of 277 million yuan and R&D expenses of 304 million yuan, both hitting record highs. However, the marginal effect of sales expenses driving revenue growth is weakening, as both 2023 and 2024 saw sales expense growth rates higher than revenue growth rates.

R&D expenses have maintained double-digit year-over-year growth over the past three years, but new products have not yet formed large-scale revenue, making it difficult to generate substantial short-term benefits. Regarding inventory, at the end of 2024, the company’s inventory was 7.2843 million yuan, accounting for 0.87% of total assets, an increase of 0.14%. End-of-period inventory of goods was 32.0488 million yuan, up about 45% year-over-year, indicating a slowdown in terminal sales.

**　“Hi-Body” struggles to reverse decline through price cuts; “Ru Bai Angel” growth remains weak**

Looking at the product side, as the first domestic neck wrinkle repair product, Aimeike’s “Hi-Body” was once the company’s “cash cow.” After its listing in 2017, sales skyrocketed from 119,700 units to 5.14 million units in 2023, accounting for over 70% of revenue at one point. However, the 2024 annual report shows that, for the entire year, solution injection products centered on “Hi-Body” sold 6.3463 million units, up 24.44% year-over-year, but revenue only increased by 4.4% to 1.744 billion yuan.

The average factory price per unit dropped from 325 yuan in 2023 to 275 yuan, a 15.4% decrease, while inventory increased sharply by 91.40%. This indicates that since Huaxi Bio’s neck wrinkle repair product “Runzhi Gega” was approved in July 2024, the market competition landscape has been reshaped, and Aimeike’s price-cutting strategy has had limited effect.

From the revenue composition, in 2024, the company’s solution injection products centered on “Hi-Body” and gel injection products centered on “Ru Bai Angel” achieved revenues of 1.743 billion yuan and 1.216 billion yuan, respectively, accounting for 57.64% and 40.18% of total revenue, forming the company’s main business pillars.

Among them, “Ru Bai Angel” (including cross-linked hyaluronic acid gel with L-lactic acid-ethylene glycol copolymer microspheres) obtained a Class III medical device registration certificate in June 2021. Its revenue grew rapidly over the following years and was regarded as the company’s second growth curve. However, in 2024, “Ru Bai Angel” also showed signs of growth fatigue, with sales volume only 893,600 units, down 11.24% year-over-year, and revenue growth sharply dropping from 81.43% in 2023 to 5.01%.

From an industry perspective, the pressure on Aimeike’s two core products reflects increasing market competition, industry expansion slowing, and stricter regulation. Hyaluronic acid was once the “golden track” of the medical aesthetics industry, but now it has become highly competitive. By 2024, over 50 Class III medical device licenses for hyaluronic acid had been approved domestically, with more than 400 brands circulating, leading to more choices for medical aesthetic clinics and weakening upstream manufacturers’ bargaining power.

Looking at industry growth, the overall growth rate of the medical aesthetics industry in 2024 slowed significantly due to macroeconomic factors. According to estimates by Allergan and Deloitte, the overall growth rate of the medical aesthetics market in 2024 was about 10%, still maintaining double-digit growth but a substantial slowdown from 20% in 2023. On the regulatory front, in 2024, the National Medical Products Administration strengthened the approval process for “three certificates” and cracked down on illegal medical aesthetic institutions, increasing upstream channel rectification pressure.

Aimeike’s predicament essentially reflects the transition of the medical aesthetics industry from explosive growth to maturity. As the industry enters its second half, the era of “easy profits” will be a thing of the past. Currently, about 98% of Aimeike’s revenue still depends on hyaluronic acid products. The annual report mentions 10 R&D products, with only Bonida 2.0 for chin augmentation approved at the end of 2024. However, this product is essentially an extension of existing products, not a revolutionary innovation.

Among the company’s pipeline products, botulinum toxin and collagen face fierce competition, making it difficult to develop blockbuster products like “Hi-Body.” Whether the high-priced acquisition of 85% of Korea’s REGEN for 1.386 billion yuan can open a new growth curve remains uncertain. Under the new competitive landscape, Aimeike still faces many challenges in maintaining its leading position in the industry.