China's hot pot restaurant chain Haidilao reports profit plunge

BEIJING - Haidilao, a leading hot pot restaurant chain in China, posted a significant drop in net profit for the first half of the year, largely due to the COVID-19 epidemic that led to a decline in customer flow.

The company reported a loss of 965 million yuan ($140.1 million) in net profit, down over 200 percent year on year from January to June, according to its financial report.

The company's business revenue plummeted 16.5 percent year-on-year to 9.76 billion yuan during the same period.

Despite the slump in dine-in services, the company's revenue from takeaway food business rose 124 percent year on year in H1, accounting for 4.2 percent of the total revenue, according to the report.