Yangtze River Business Daily News ● Yangtze River Business Daily reporter Jiang Chuya
"The official announcement of Wang Yibo as the new spokesperson", "Microcolando contains trans fatty acids", "Microcoland's market value has evaporated 36.5 billion in three years......
Recently, the "domestic cheese leader" Miaokeland (600882. SH) has been frequently searched and pushed to the forefront of public opinion, which has aroused consumers' attention to its food safety.
The Yangtze River Business Daily reporter noticed that after the decline in net profit in 2022, the performance of Microcolando in 2023 will be even more bleak. According to the 2023 financial report, Microcoland's revenue fell for the first time in eight years, the net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies (referred to as "net profit") fell by 53.9%, and the non-net profit plummeted by nearly 90% year-on-year, only 7.17 million yuan. In the first quarter of 2024, Miaokeland has not stopped the downward trend, with an operating income of 950 million yuan during the reporting period, a year-on-year decrease of 7.14%, but a net profit of about 41.3 million yuan in the same period, an increase of 70.63% year-on-year.
In the secondary market, the share price of Microcolando has reached the highest point of 84.5 yuan / share at the end of May 2021, and the market value once exceeded 40 billion yuan, and it has been declining since then, as of the close of May 13, the share price reached 14.31 yuan / share, a decrease of more than 80% from the highest point, with a market value of 7.348 billion yuan and a three-year market value of more than 32.6 billion yuan.
As the major shareholder of Microcolando, Mengniu was also affected by its performance and stock price decline. Mengniu has continued to make additional investments, subscribing for nearly 3 billion yuan at a price of 29.71 yuan per share in 2021, and so far, this fixed increase alone has lost nearly 2 billion yuan.
has been caught in a storm of public opinion on hot searches one after another
On May 9th, Microcolando officially announced that Wang Yibo, a rising star in film and television, was its new brand spokesperson, and launched a series of new products including flower cheese sticks, cod cheese, and pulled cheese at the press conference, and some products have been sold out in the Tmall flagship store.
Chai Xiu, CEO of Microcoland, emphasized at the press conference that the brand upgrade aims to create a more youthful, fashionable and professional image, which is also a key step in the transformation and upgrading of the company's diversified business strategy.
On the same day that the new spokesperson was officially announced, the related entry of "Miaokelan contains trans fatty acids" also appeared on Weibo hot search, causing controversy among netizens.
According to media reports, the "edible oil products" included in the ingredient list of Microcolando cheese products are actually another name for trans fatty acids.
"It's terrible" and "I don't dare to give it to my children anymore", for a while, public opinion fryed, which caused many netizens and parents to worry, and they questioned the food safety problems of Miaokelando.
It is understood that some studies have found that trans fatty acids are related to the incidence of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and obesity, and the intake of trans fatty acids in infants and young children may also affect growth and development.
In response to this question, the official customer service of Microcolando responded that the product does not contain trans fats. The company also said that consumers are advised to eat it in moderation, and the production of all products is in line with national standards, and is paying attention to this matter, and the results will be announced in a timely manner.
As of now, on the Black Cat platform, there are nearly 200 complaints about Microcoland, mainly focusing on expired sales, food spoilage, foreign objects, false propaganda and other issues.
Performance Waterloo
Microcolando, formerly known as Guangze Dairy, is the largest dairy production enterprise in Jilin Province, and officially changed its name to Microcolando in 2019. In 2016, the company won the favor of consumers with its innovative cheese products and precise market positioning, and became the "No. 1 cheese stock".
After listing, after two years of adjustment, the performance of Microcolando has increased all the way. From 2018 to 2022, Microcolando's operating income increased from 1.226 billion yuan to 4.83 billion yuan, with a compound growth rate of 40.88%. Among them, cheese's contribution to revenue increased from 37% in 2018 to 80% in 2022.
After several years of rapid growth, starting in 2022, the revenue growth rate of Microcolando has shown obvious signs of slowing down, and the net profit growth rate is directly "negative". In 2022, Microcolando will achieve revenue of 4.830 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7.84%; The net profit was 63.44 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 10.89%.
By 2023, Microcolando will not only have a decline in revenue and net profit, but also a halving of its net profit. In 2023, Microcolando will achieve operating income of 4.049 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 16.16%; net profit was about 63.44 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 53.9%; The non-net profit was 7.1712 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 89.63%. This is the first time that Microcolando's revenue and net profit have fallen since its listing in 2016.
From the perspective of business segments, the company's three main businesses - cheese, trading and liquid milk, will have a revenue decrease of 732 million yuan, 33 million yuan and 15 million yuan respectively in 2023 compared with 2022. Among them, the decline in revenue in the cheese business was particularly significant, which was the main factor contributing to the overall revenue decline.
For the large proportion of net profit decline in 2023, Microcolando briefly attributed it to "affected by market changes", "changes in the raw material market" and "exchange rate fluctuations".
While the performance is declining, the number of dealers of the company is also declining year by year, with 5,363, 5,218, and 5,036 from 2021 to 2023, respectively. The company's revenue is highly dependent on dealer channels, and the distribution channel will achieve revenue of 2.93 billion yuan in 2023, accounting for 72.58% of revenue.
In the first quarter of this year, the company's revenue continued to decline. According to the financial report, in the first quarter of 2024, Miaokelando's operating income will be 950 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 7.14%; The net profit was about 41.3 million yuan, an increase of 70.63% year-on-year.
Over-reliance on marketing
The Yangtze River Business Daily reporter noticed that the performance growth of Miaokeland in the past few years was mainly driven by marketing, relying on overwhelming advertising, Miaokeland quickly opened up brand awareness, and marketing expenses also rose.
The financial report shows that from 2018 to 2022, the company's sales expenses increased from 205 million to 1.219 billion, and in 2023, due to changes in the market environment, the company's sales expenses will decrease, but they are still as high as 939 million yuan. In 6 years, Microcolan has spent more money on advertising and promotion, with a total of 3.149 billion yuan. In 2023, Microcoland's advertising and promotion expenses will account for 59% of the total sales expenses.
In contrast, Microcoland's R&D expenses account for about 1% of revenue in recent years. From 2021 to 2023, Microcolan's R&D expenses will be 40.09 million yuan, 51.22 million yuan, and 45.54 million yuan respectively, accounting for 0.9%, 1.06%, and 1.12% of revenue, respectively.
In 2023, Microcolando will finally realize the pressure brought by excessive expenses, with operating costs, sales expenses, and management expenses falling by 9.90%, 22.99%, and 39.16% year-on-year respectively, while R&D expenses have also decreased by more than 5.68 million yuan, but they are still a drop in the bucket.
The industry believes that Microcolando is currently facing intensified market competition, changes in consumer demand, and difficulties in expanding sales channels. In order to cope with the dilemma, Microcolando can take measures such as optimizing product structure, strengthening R&D investment, reducing marketing costs, expanding sales channels, and enhancing the competitiveness of enterprises.