2025 Revenue Growth and Slight Decline in Net Profit: Barbi Foods' Net Profit Attributable to Shareholders (Non-Recurring) Has Been Steadily Increasing Over the Past Three Years

This article is reprinted from: Economic Information Daily

□Reporter Wu Yong

Recently, Zhongyin Babi Food Co., Ltd. (referred to as “Babi Food,” 605338.SH) released its 2025 annual performance brief, showing the company achieved total revenue of 1.859 billion yuan, an increase of 11.22% year-over-year; net profit attributable to the parent was 273 million yuan, a decrease of 1.30%; and net profit attributable to the parent after non-recurring gains and losses was 245 million yuan, up 16.49% year-over-year. The “Economic Information Daily” reporter noted that Babi Food’s main business profitability continues to demonstrate resilience, with revenue and non-recurring net profit attributable to the parent increasing steadily over the past three years, and its profit structure gradually optimized.

Public information shows that Babi Food was founded in Shanghai in 2003, primarily engaged in the research, production, and sales of Chinese steamed buns. The company listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange Main Board in 2020, becoming the “China’s No. 1 Bun Stock” in A-shares. After years of development, Babi Food has formed a dual-driven pattern of “store operations + large customer retail,” mainly adopting a “franchise-focused, company-operated and group catering supplemented” omnichannel sales model, making it one of the leading enterprises in the domestic breakfast chain sector.

In 2025, Babi Food continues to promote store network expansion through both organic growth and acquisitions. For organic expansion, the company set a goal of opening 1,000 new stores throughout the year. By the third quarter of 2025, it had opened 541 new stores, excluding the “Manxiangren” brand that was consolidated, with 293 new stores opened independently. Regionally, the company has intensified store deployment in key areas of East China and North China, while also expanding into third- and fourth-tier cities and county markets. In East China, new county coverage points have been added, and in North China, the store coverage has further expanded. Regarding acquisitions, the company is continuing to integrate the “Qinglu” and “Zhengquanyi” brands acquired in 2024, and in 2025, Zhejiang’s “Manxiangren” will be included in the consolidation scope.

The steady increase in the number of stores has become an important support for Babi Food’s performance growth. Looking at the long-term trend, by the end of 2023, 2024, and the third quarter of 2025, the number of franchise stores was 5,043, 5,143, and 5,934 respectively, with the store network continuously improving. Meanwhile, the company is also focusing on improving single-store operational quality and business innovation, through store image upgrades, optimized takeout strategies, and product structure upgrades. Pilot projects for “Babi Handmade Soup Dumplings” dine-in stores have been launched in East China, and new formats such as bun shops and specialty noodle restaurants are also being refined.

While steadily expanding its store network, Babi Food’s dual-driven business structure remains stable, with franchise and group catering large customer businesses growing synergistically. Franchise operations remain the core revenue source; in 2023, 2024, and the first three quarters of 2025, this segment achieved revenues of 1.252 billion yuan, 1.246 billion yuan, and 1.014 billion yuan, accounting for 76.81%, 74.57%, and 74.78% of total revenue respectively, maintaining a relatively stable revenue structure. The group catering and large customer business have become growth highlights; from 2023 to 2024, revenue increased from 330 million yuan to 380 million yuan, accounting for 22.74% of total revenue; in the first three quarters of 2025, this segment achieved revenue of 307 million yuan, a year-over-year increase of 16.29%.

To meet multi-channel and multi-scenario consumer demands, Babi Food continues to deepen channel cooperation and product development, adjusting product supply for group catering, retail platforms, and supermarkets. The company has strengthened partnerships with Hema, Meituan Kuai Lu, Yonghui Supermarket, and other channels, building a nationwide sales network through distributors. In 2024, the company launched several new products including semi-finished dishes, and in 2025, it will continue to iterate its product matrix, forming a diversified product structure centered on steamed noodles and fillings, complemented by boiled and baked pastries.

At the same time, Babi Food has established a unified procurement, centralized production, and full-region distribution supply chain system, implementing standardized quality control management. The company disclosed that in 2024, the pass rate for product factory inspections and government sampling inspections was 100%, with no major food safety incidents.

Notably, the slight decline in net profit attributable to the parent in 2025 is not due to core business operations but is affected by non-recurring gains and losses. Due to fluctuations in the secondary market price of the company’s indirectly held Dongpeng Beverage stock, fair value changes and investment income decreased by a total of 93.82 million yuan compared to the previous year, directly impacting operating profit, total profit, and net profit attributable to the parent. Excluding this factor, the profitability of the company’s main business remained stable.

Looking at the past three years, Babi Food’s main business profitability has continued to show resilience, with revenue maintaining growth for three consecutive years: 1.63 billion yuan in 2023, 1.671 billion yuan in 2024, and 1.859 billion yuan in 2025; non-recurring net profit attributable to the parent also grew positively for three years, reaching 178 million yuan, 210 million yuan, and 245 million yuan respectively. Conversely, the fluctuations in net profit attributable to the parent during these periods were mainly caused by non-recurring factors related to fair value changes in financial assets. From 2023 to 2025, the net profit attributable to the parent was 214 million yuan, 277 million yuan, and 273 million yuan respectively.

Additionally, Babi Food’s gross profit margins for the first three quarters of 2023 to 2025 were 26.11%, 26.40%, and 28.01%, showing a steady annual increase. The non-recurring net profit margin attributable to the parent for the first three quarters of 2025 was 12.91%, up 0.79 percentage points from the same period in 2024. Based on full-year data, the margin is expected to further increase to 13.17% in 2025. Babi Food stated that the gross profit margin increase mainly stems from two factors: first, the procurement prices of core raw materials like flour and pork are at low levels year-over-year, reducing unit production costs; second, the continuous expansion of revenue scale has created scale effects, diluting fixed costs.

In terms of expense management, Babi Food has continued to promote digitalization and refined management. The expense ratio for the first three quarters of 2025 was 10.51%, down 0.45 percentage points from the same period in 2024, demonstrating effective cost control and ongoing improvement in profitability conversion efficiency.

Regarding future development plans, Babi Food explicitly stated in its performance brief that it will continue to deepen its nationwide market layout, advancing the large-scale expansion of franchise stores and improving the refined operation of existing stores; simultaneously, it will increase investment in supply chain construction and product R&D to further strengthen the core business’s market competitiveness and lay a solid foundation for long-term corporate development.

(Intern Zhang Xingyu also contributed to this article)