Meituan beats slowdown with $6.9-billion sales, revenue rises 25%

Meituan’s quarterly revenue grew 25%, after the Chinese food delivery titan withstood the economic fallout from coronavirus-related lockdowns in cities such as Shanghai. 

Sales rose to 46.3 billion yuan ($6.9 billion) in the three months ended March, propelled by a 47% surge in revenue from the division that groups new businesses such as ride-hailing and community commerce.

Revenues exceeded the average analysts’ estimate of 45.3 billion yuan, but marked the slowest pace of growth for the company in almost two years. 

Beijing-based Meituan is one of the few Chinese tech companies that appear to have maintained its momentum in a challenging macro environment. 

China’s retail sales in April contracted 11.1 per cent from a year ago, underscoring the impact of a Covid-19 Zero policy that’s snarled the country’s supply chains and hammered consumer sentiment. 

Kindle out of China

Amazon.com Inc. will discontinue the Kindle eBook in China store on June 30, 2023, a spokesperson said. It promised to continue supporting Kindle readers or refund any device purchases made after January.