2026-09-02
Shanghai-listed Ningbo Lehui International Engineering Equipment Co. said its Fresh Beer 30km division increased revenue in the first half of 2026, but the unit’s loss widened as the company spent more on sales, branding, and channel expansion across China.
According to Lehui International’s unaudited half-year report, the fresh and craft beer segment generated CNY90.45 million in revenue from January through June, up 10.06% from a year earlier. The division posted a loss attributable to the parent of CNY12.58 million, a 20.99% increase from the same period last year, even as EBITDA remained positive at CNY2.97 million.
The company said the wider loss was mainly the result of heavier market spending. Selling expenses for the division rose by CNY2.62 million from a year earlier, which Lehui said reflected a continued investment cycle in brand building and channel development. The figures show that sales are growing, but not yet fast enough to absorb the added commercial costs tied to expansion.
Fresh Beer 30km is Lehui’s second business line alongside its main equipment manufacturing operation. The beer business is built around producing and selling unpasteurized fresh beer through a distributed network of city breweries, a model that depends on cold-chain distribution and local market coverage. In its filing, the company said it had already built four factories in Shanghai, Ningbo, Changsha, and Wuhan, while two more factories in Kunming and Changchun were under construction by the end of June.
That buildout continued to weigh on the broader balance sheet. Lehui reported CNY58.72 million in construction in progress at the end of the first half, up 140.69% from the end of 2025, mainly because of factory construction and equipment investment in the craft beer business. The company said the additional production footprint is meant to address the short delivery radius of fresh beer and improve delivery times in local markets.
Lehui also pointed to wider retail and food-service distribution as part of the expansion push. In the report, the company said Fresh Beer 30km products had entered more than 1,700 FamilyMart convenience stores and had added channels including Hema and 7-Eleven. It also said it had reached supply or contract manufacturing agreements with partners including Haidilao, Hema Fresh, Wusu, Xiaoxiang Supermarket, and Waima Songjiu.
Marketing spending also increased online. The company said it stepped up investment on major content and e-commerce platforms such as Douyin and Xiaohongshu in the first half, building what it described as a broader content matrix to reach target consumers and support brand awareness and sales growth.
The positive EBITDA figure suggests that the division generated operating earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, but that was not enough to offset other costs below that line. Lehui did not disclose beer volumes, average selling prices, or product mix in the segment filing, leaving limited detail on whether revenue growth came from higher sales volumes, pricing, or channel mix changes.
The results came as Lehui’s overall business posted stronger top-line growth but weaker bottom-line performance. Total company revenue reached CNY784.68 million in the first half, up 27.49% from a year earlier, while net profit attributable to shareholders fell 25.67% to CNY19.05 million. The company said group profit was hurt by foreign-exchange losses linked to a stronger renminbi and by higher credit impairment charges after some receivables from a large project were not collected on schedule.
Within the group, the equipment manufacturing segment remained the main source of revenue and profit. The company said equipment revenue rose to CNY691.55 million in the first half, while the beer segment contributed CNY90.45 million. Segment data in the filing also showed beer sales costs of CNY59.12 million for the period.
Lehui’s cash flow also reflected the strain of expansion and project delivery. Net cash used in operating activities was CNY186.10 million in the first half, compared with positive operating cash flow a year earlier. The company attributed that mainly to the startup and full delivery of a large equipment contract, which required heavier funding input during the period, while short-term borrowings rose 35.98% from the end of 2025 to CNY616.96 million.