Live coverage of China Resources Beer earnings meeting: New CEO Zhao Chunwu "supports" the liquor business and will restart some regional beer brands.

Ask AI · How is China Resources Beer’s liquor business responding to industry fluctuations?

Source: Times Finance Author: Lin Xinlin

Leading China Resources Beer is still exploring a second growth curve.

On March 23, China Resources Beer (00291.HK) announced its 2025 performance, with revenue of 37.985 billion yuan, down 0.76% year-on-year; net profit attributable to shareholders was 3.371 billion yuan, a decrease of 28.87% year-on-year. The company also declared a dividend of RMB 1.021 per share for 2025, a 34.3% increase from the previous year.

Due to goodwill impairment in its liquor business, China Resources Beer’s profit in 2025 hit a nearly five-year low.

At the earnings conference, Zhao Chunwu, the newly appointed chairman of the board, expressed support for the liquor business, stating, “We have long-term confidence in the liquor industry.” Zhao openly said that China Resources’ layout in liquor has only been three years, and it is too early to question or consider adjusting the strategy.

China Resources Beer earnings conference, Chairman Zhao Chunwu speaking

Beer sales stabilize, some local brands are relaunched

Over the past year, China Resources Beer’s core management team was replaced, with the new team now taking the lead.

“Among the four of us here today, only Liang Weiqiang (company secretary) and I have attended previous press conferences; the other senior executives are new. The outside world is especially interested in whether we will adjust our strategy,” Zhao Chunwu said at the earnings conference.

On September 3 last year, Zhao Chunwu was transferred from President of China Resources Beer to Chairman of the Board; in October, Jin Hanquan took over as President, and former China Resources Wanjia CFO Yang Hongxia was appointed as the company’s CFO, both from China Resources.

The new team faces multiple industry challenges, including shrinking volume, intensified competition, and the continuous decline of ready-to-drink channels.

In 2025, China Resources Beer maintained its “pursuit of growth” goal, with total beer sales reaching approximately 11.03 million kiloliters, a 1.4% increase year-on-year.

High-end beer products continued to grow. According to the earnings report, in 2025, sales of sub-premium and above beers increased significantly, accounting for nearly 25% of total sales; sales of premium and above beers grew by nearly 10% year-on-year.

Zhao Chunwu expressed a positive outlook on the sub-premium market, saying it will continue to grow over the next five years. He noted that although “premiumization” is no longer a hot topic due to macroeconomic and consumer environment changes, sales of premium products in the beer industry by companies and peers still continue to grow.

Despite the overall slowdown in the beer industry, this domestic brewing giant remains optimistic about its growth potential. Zhao Chunwu emphasized that beer, with its low alcohol content, has unique value, and the company remains cautiously optimistic about the industry’s future.

It’s worth noting that over the past year, China Resources Beer has reintroduced some regional brands it previously acquired, including West Lake Beer from Hangzhou, Zhejiang, and Huangguoshu Waterfall Beer from Guizhou.

Zhao Chunwu admitted that during Snow Beer’s expansion from Shenyang to nationwide, many local brands were integrated during the M&A and consolidation phase. After the nationwide rollout of the Snow brand strategy, these local brands gradually phased out.

Now that the company has completed its national branding, Zhao believes that with consumer upgrades and diversified demands, China Resources Beer needs some differentiated brands to supplement its portfolio.

“We have hundreds of brands in our brand library, but only a few are actually launched, and all of them have unique IP value and regional cultural characteristics, including Yalu River, Hailar, etc.” He emphasized that these new brands are generally positioned at the sub-premium level or above, not targeting mass markets.

The management also revealed plans for international expansion. Previously, China Resources Beer collaborated with global brewing giant Heineken to handle Heineken’s sales in China; now, the company plans to leverage Heineken’s global distribution network to explore overseas markets.

“We aim to prepare for internationalization during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030),” Zhao Chunwu said. As the domestic market approaches saturation, China Resources Beer is actively pushing its global strategy. He disclosed a three-step plan: first, rely on Heineken’s channels for expansion; second, focus on key countries that are culturally friendly to China; third, reduce risks through partnerships.

Liability of 2.8 billion yuan in liquor, but “strategy adjustment is too early”

The liquor business, which has been under development for nearly three years, remains a focus at the earnings conference.

On January 10, 2023, China Resources Beer completed the transfer of a 55.19% stake in Jinsha Liquor, officially becoming its controlling shareholder. However, amid the cooling and adjustment of the liquor industry in recent years, Jinsha Liquor, especially its high-end brand “Summary Liquor,” faces inventory and pricing challenges.

China Resources Beer’s liquor business is mainly contributed by Jinsha Liquor. Financial reports show that in 2025, the liquor business generated revenue of 1.496 billion yuan, down nearly 30% from 2.149 billion yuan in 2024.

The sluggish performance of the liquor business further impacted China Resources Beer’s profitability. The financial report disclosed that the profit decline was mainly due to a goodwill impairment of 2.877 billion yuan related to the acquisition of liquor assets.

Excluding goodwill impairment, fixed asset impairments from capacity optimization, and related expenses, China Resources Beer’s pre-tax net profit attributable to shareholders was 5.724 billion yuan in 2025, a double-digit increase year-on-year.

More importantly, does this impairment mean a one-time exit? Zhao Chunwu straightforwardly said that the goodwill impairment last year was based on comprehensive considerations of macroeconomic factors and industry cycles. “Impairment is not something we designed or controlled; it’s a prudent financial measure, and we conduct stress tests every year.”

After a significant impairment of 2.8 billion yuan, how the brewing company views and advances its liquor business remains a key question.

The liquor business was initiated by former CEO Hou Xiaohai. Zhao Chunwu did not shy away from “reviewing” this strategy’s gains and losses. “Looking back now, our liquor business indeed faced unprecedented difficulties and industry upheaval.” He also acknowledged that the integration of brewing and liquor did not meet expectations.

However, at the earnings conference, Zhao Chunwu still supported the liquor business. “The Chinese beer market has entered a period of turbulence and adjustment. For China Resources Beer, to continue growing, we need a second growth curve.” He believes the liquor industry has significant size and tolerance for risk.

Therefore, despite current industry turbulence, Zhao Chunwu stated that compared to other alcoholic beverages like wine or whiskey, the liquor industry remains a good choice. “You can choose not to do it, and you won’t be wrong, but for the company’s development, doing nothing might cause us to be left behind by the times.”

He expressed that it would be a mistake to doubt the strategic direction due to industry fluctuations, reaffirming long-term confidence in liquor, and aiming to regroup and move forward.

How to truly resolve the integration challenges in the liquor sector is an urgent task for the new management team.