Meituan, the Chinese food delivery giant, reported its first quarterly earnings for 2023, returning to profitability in the process. In the first quarter of the year, the company posted a net profit of RMB 3.36 billion ($486 million), compared to a loss of RMB 5.7 billion in the same quarter of 2022. Revenue for Meituan’s core local commerce business, such as food delivery, in-store, hotel, and travel, surged 25.5% to RMB 42.9 billion. Meanwhile, its new initiatives segment narrowed losses by 40.5%, to RMB 5 billion.
Meituan CEO Wang Xing noted that the company has assembled a team to develop AI models and applications for various purposes. He mentioned that although those efforts have yet to produce notable results, the team is still working on getting them to fruition.
Meituan is the largest local services provider in China in terms of platform gross merchandise volume, according to its website. In the past few years, it has extended services into areas such as food delivery, in-store, hotel, and travel. Its services have attracted many customers throughout the country. The rebound in consumer spending has been a great boost to the company’s earnings and revenue.
Wang Xing is the chairman and CEO of Meituan. He oversaw the company’s transition from a classifieds website to a local services provider in the past few years. He is credited with revolutionizing many of the company’s businesses, such as food delivery and travel services, and adapting them to meet the local needs of Chinese consumers. With his leadership, Meituan has been able to expand its operations and grow its profit margins.
