Milkground(600882) 新浪财经·2025-03-28 09:10Core Viewpoint - The company, Miaokelando, reported a "revenue decrease but profit increase" for the fiscal year 2024, breaking a two-year trend of declining net profits, with a net profit growth of 89.16% despite an 8.99% drop in revenue [1][3]. Financial Performance - Revenue for 2024 reached 4.844 billion yuan, down 8.99% from 5.322 billion yuan in 2023 [2]. - Net profit attributable to shareholders was 113.62 million yuan, a significant increase of 89.16% compared to 60.07 million yuan in 2023 [2]. - The net profit after deducting non-recurring gains and losses surged by 554.27% to 46.92 million yuan [2]. - Operating cash flow for 2024 was 530.73 million yuan, up 101.28% from the previous year [2]. Cost Management and Profitability - The increase in profit was attributed to a decline in raw material costs, with the gross margin for cheese business rising by 0.61 percentage points to 35.04% [4]. - Sales expenses decreased by 9.49% to 922 million yuan, while R&D expenses were reduced by 10.25% [4][5]. - The acquisition of Mengniu Cheese contributed approximately 840,000 yuan to net profit, although it had a low gross margin of 6.91% [5][6]. Market Position and Challenges - The cheese business generated 3.75 billion yuan in revenue, accounting for 80.12% of total revenue, and 96.8% of overall gross profit [8]. - The company faced a rising asset-liability ratio, increasing from 37.03% to 42.89%, with interest-bearing debt reaching 2.043 billion yuan, a 39.04% increase [8]. - The market share of cheese products has declined from 5.92% in January 2022 to approximately 3.5% in Q1 2024, indicating a 40% drop [9]. Governance and Management Issues - The company has faced scrutiny over governance issues, including past financial misconduct by its principal shareholder, Chai Xiu [15][16]. - Chai Xiu's return as general manager has raised concerns about the company's governance and transparency [17]. - The company announced an employee stock ownership plan with strict performance targets, which may pose challenges given its recent financial performance [19][21].