China’s leading food delivery company Meituan said its quarterly profit had been all but wiped out as it fights a punishing domestic price war, sending shares down 10 per cent.
Hong Kong-listed Meituan reported on Wednesday its net income dropped 97 per cent to Rmb365mn ($51mn) in the three months to the end of June, despite revenues rising 12 per cent to Rmb92bn. It blamed “irrational competition” that began in the same quarter and warned of impending losses.
Ecommerce giants Alibaba and JD.com recently launched campaigns to seize market share in China’s food delivery segment, where lightning-fast delivery times have become the norm across major cities.