Cici Cao and Bloomberg
Shares of Pop Mart International (9992) surged nearly 11 percent yesterday after announcing its 2024 net profit nearly tripled from a year ago.
The Chinese toymaker recorded a net profit of 3.13 billion yuan (HK$3.35 billion) last year, up 189 percent from 2023, beating the 2.71 billion yuan analyst estimate, thanks to higher business turnover in offshore markets.
Chairman and chief executive Wang Ning said at a press conference that the company expects overseas revenue to maintain strong multiple growth this year, with overall revenue projected to increase by more than 50 percent, surpassing 20 billion yuan in sales.
Revenue in 2024 amounted to 13.04 billion yuan, up 107 percent year-on-year.
Specifically, mainland business contributed to revenue of 7.97 billion yuan, marking a growth of 52.3 percent, while turnover from Hong Kong, Macau and other markets surged 3.75 times to 5.07 billion yuan.
The performance of Labubu was “particularly impressive,” as sales of ‘The Monsters’ dolls rose to 3 billion yuan in 2024 compared to 368 million yuan before, Pop Mart said in a filing yesterday.
’Crybaby,’ another one of its fast-growing intellectual property products, saw an over 1,500 percent increase in related revenue.
The ‘Molly’ series and ‘Skullpanda’ series generated revenues of 2.09 billion yuan and 1.3 billion yuan, respectively.
Wang said that the company’s sales in Southeast Asia surged 619 percent last year, while the North American market grew more than five times.
The maker of Labubu dolls will continue to expand its global footprint with focus on North America and Europe, the filing said.
”By developing physical stores in globally iconic locations, we aim to enhance brand experience and recognition,” it said.
Pop Mart will also look at strengthening cooperation with artists and brands to promote the “cross-boundary integration of pop culture,” said the filing.
The brand has become a global phenomenon after K-pop band Blackpink’s Lisa revealed how she obsesses over toys from the Chinese company.
Gross profit margin stood at 66.8 percent, an increase of 5.5 percentage points year-on-year.
The toymaker said that was mainly due to increased revenue proportion from Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and overseas channels and continuous optimization of cost control at the supply chain end, as well as declined externally sourced goods.