On March 30, Huitongda Network (9878.HK) announced its 2025 annual results. 2025 marked a pivotal year for Huitongda as it executed strategic upgrades and deepened its transformation, steering the Company toward high-quality development. The Company significantly improved its operating quality, with revenue for the year reaching RMB52.3 billion and profit rising 14.6% year-on-year (“yoy”) to RMB529 million. Gross profit margin increased by 18% yoy to 4.5%, while profit attributable to equity shareholders of the Company rose 11.3% yoy to RMB300 million. The Company also recorded net cash generated from operating activities of RMB419 million for the year, maintaining positive operating cash inflow for seven consecutive years.

 

The three key financial indicators, namely gross profit margin, net profit margin, and net profit margin attributable to equity shareholders of the Company, all reached historical highs, fully demonstrating the continuous improvement in operational quality and profitability despite notable operational challenges and macro headwinds. In fact, the continuous improvement in operational quality and profitability following the strategic upgrades also marked the Company's entry into a new cycle of high-quality development, characterized by enhanced profitability, improved operating quality, and transformational upgrade.

 

Enhancing Profitability and Quality: Strategic Upgrade Delivering Solid Results

According to the results announcement, with profit and cash flow as its key priorities for the year, Huitongda focused its resources on high-growth sectors such as "technology-enabled" and "smart supply chain", achieving breakthrough progress across four key dimensions.

 

In terms of building a smart supply chain, Huitongda has built an efficient supply chain system featuring reverse customization, short-chain distribution, and digitalization across multiple industries, launching three major projects, including the "Brand Express", "Self-owned Brand Ecosystem Development", and "Open-Platform Smart Supply Chain System". Benefiting from these initiatives, the gross profit margin of TOP brands increased by approximately 30% during the new product launch season, and the sales per store (member stores) increased by more than 40%. Meanwhile, revenue of new product categories such as fast-moving consumer goods and senior-friendly health products increased by more than 50% yoy. Sales of Huitongda's self-owned brands also exceeded RMB140 million, representing a yoy increase of 37%, with gross profit margin exceeding 40%.

 

The Group also delivered outstanding results in the development and application of its AI products. To advance the smart upgrade of "AI + industries", the Company launched its retail-scenario-based "Qiancheng Cloud AI" vertical model, with the model completing the filing with the Cyberspace Administration of China during the year. The Company also reached a full-stack comprehensive AI cooperation with Alibaba Cloud, further expanding its offerings and boosting its AI-related revenue from zero to over RMB100 million, accounting for approximately 20% of total service revenue. Currently, retail stores and supply chain customers can conveniently utilize various intelligent agents through multiple platforms, such as the "Qiancheng AI Super Store Manager APP" and the "Qiancheng AI Portal" (ai.qcos.cn), supporting a wide range of operational tasks, including merchandise sourcing, e-commerce livestreaming and community marketing.

 

In terms of new retail formats, Huitongda made significant breakthroughs by tapping into FMCG discount business, officially entering the retail chain sector through "hard-discount supermarkets". The first batch of hard-discount supermarkets opened in December 2025, marking the completion of major upgrades for Huitongda: from lower-tier markets to the broader nationwide market, from a pure "to-B" model to a "to-B plus to-C" model, and from a primary focus on high-value products that require strong customer experience and after-sales service (the so-called “three-high” categories) to a comprehensive product portfolio, creating a new growth driver in the process.

 

Under the dual drivers of "Industry + Capital", Huitongda saw significant breakthroughs during the year, expanding its industrial footprint while expediting investments and acquisitions of high-quality and value-creating assets. Specifically, the Company acquired a 25% equity interest in A-share listed company Jin Tong Ling, a high-end manufacturer, and became its controlling shareholder, in an attempt to bridge “large consumption + intelligent manufacturing”. It also acquired a 57% equity interest in Boundary Consulting, a leading e-commerce AI company. According to the Company’s previous announcement, Boundary Consulting is expected to record net profit attributable to shareholders of no less than RMB85 million, RMB100 million and RMB115 million in the next three years, respectively.

 

Through these strategic acquisitions, the Company has established a new growth framework of “large consumption + intelligent manufacturing + AI technology”, injecting fresh momentum into its future development.

 

Driving Transformational Upgrades: Four Major Innovative Projects to Lead Future Growth, Accelerating Value Realization

In the new era guided by the "15th Five-Year Plan", which emphasizes strategies such as "rejuvenating the lower-tier markets", "persistently expanding domestic demand", "optimizing and upgrading traditional industries", and "cultivating and expanding emerging and future industries", Huitongda will leverage its competitive advantage in the lower-tier markets to empower physical retail operators in urban and rural areas, supply chain partners, upstream manufacturers, and cutting-edge technology enterprises through "innovative supply chains" and "AI+", advancing its four major innovation initiatives and accelerating its transition into a new phase of value creation.

 

First is to accelerate its development in retail chains and fast-moving consumer goods. In early 2026, Huitongda reached a strategic cooperation with the leading discount snack chain Ling Shi You Xuan (零食優選) to jointly operate its more than 2,800 stores nationwide. Going forward, Huitongda will rapidly expand its footprint through self-operation, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions and other expansion models. By leveraging its supply chain and AI capabilities, the Company will strive to move rapidly into the industry’s leading tier, establishing presence and creating a new growth driver through hard-discount chains, bulk snack stores, community supermarkets, and convenience stores.

 

Second is to focus on growing AI applications. Targeting the full value chain of retail operations, Huitongda will continue to strengthen its system and empowerment capabilities, focusing on "AI + Digital Intelligence + Hardware-Software Integration". On one hand, the Company will further strengthen the foundation of its vertical large model; on the other hand, it will accelerate the R&D and commercialization of AI agents, robots and other products and applications, so as to strengthen its technological entry barrier and servicing capability, and empower member stores, retail chain outlets and e-commerce merchants across multiple scenarios.

 

Third is to build an intelligent technology services platform. Leveraging the end-to-end service capabilities for technology products developed through Huitongda's long-term and in-depth cooperation with leading brands such as Apple, along with the capabilities of its subsidiary Jujia Yuntong (居家運通), the Company is comprehensively upgrading its capabilities to build an “Intelligent Technology Product Services Platform”. The platform is expected to drive the market-oriented and scaled commercialization of cutting-edge technologies, such as embodied intelligence and brain-computer interface technologies, while providing full-cycle commercialization services for hard-tech enterprises.

 

Fourth is to build an innovative supply chain platform centered on fast-moving consumer goods. Huitongda will continue to advance projects such as "Self-owned Brand Ecosystem Development" and "Brand Express", in an attempt to raise supply chain efficiency through centralized procurement, customization, self-owned brand development, AI, and big data applications. At the retail end, by covering various consumption touch points such as chain stores, private-domain channels and instant retail, it also aims to become an innovative supply chain service platform, serving all channels and adapting to new consumption patterns.

 

In 2025, Huitongda has also completed the use of reserves to offset losses, clearing the obstacles for dividend distribution. In 2026, by balancing long-term development with shareholder interests, the Company will make comprehensive plans to continuously improve its return mechanism, actively sharing the development results with its shareholders through cash dividends and other means. At the same time, the Company has initiated an H-share buyback program and will strive to reward shareholders' trust by flexibly using buybacks and other tools based on prevailing market conditions.

 

2026 will be a critical year for Huitongda, marking its transition from strategic upgrades to value realization. Leveraging its strong position in lower-tier markets, and driven by the AI technology revolution, the transformation of new retail formats, and industrial capital, the Company will use AI to enhance operating efficiency, create industrial value through its supply chain capabilities, and unlock incremental growth through retail chains. At the same time, Huitongda will continue to advance its “Industry + Capital” strategy and pursue more high-quality M&A opportunities across retail chains, AI vertical applications, technology service platforms and innovative supply chains. Against the backdrop of deeper integration between technological and industrial innovation, improving circulation in the consumer market, and continued support for rural revitalization, Huitongda remains committed to creating sustainable long-term value for its partners and society.