Want to see how unlisted but famous Chinese food and beverage private companies like Wahaha and Nongfu Spring are doing? Recently, the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce released the "2019 Top 500 Chinese Private Enterprises List," providing an excellent opportunity for outsiders to observe.

According to the Federation, the list includes private enterprises, limited liability companies, and joint-stock companies controlled by non-public ownership, ranked by 2018 full-year operating revenue. Companies self-reported their data based on financial statements and actual operations, with legal representatives signing off, and the data was audited by Reanda Certified Public Accountants.

Nongfu Spring's brands

Foodinc (小食代) sorted through the list and found that in the "food manufacturing" and "wine, beverage, and refined tea manufacturing" sectors, a total of 8 packaged food and beverage companies made the list this year, in order of ranking: Yili, Daohuaxiang, Wahaha, V V Group, Infinitus, Huaze, Nongfu Spring, and Dali Foods.

The specific list is as follows:

"2019 Top 500 Chinese Private Enterprises List" -- Sub-list for food manufacturing and wine, beverage, and refined tea manufacturing (Data source: All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce)

As can be seen, in the above sub-list, Yili remains the leading packaged food company. This company, classified under "food manufacturing," ranked 81st among China's top 500 private enterprises with operating revenue exceeding 79.5 billion yuan in 2018.

Yili's products

As for Wahaha and Nongfu Spring, classified under "wine, beverage, and tea manufacturing," their 2018 operating revenues were approximately 46.9 billion yuan and 20.9 billion yuan, ranking 156th and 423rd, respectively. This is consistent with the revenue data disclosed in the "2019 Zhejiang Province Top 100 Private Enterprises List" released earlier this month.

This means these two Zhejiang private enterprises have achieved revenue growth for two consecutive years. In 2018, Nongfu Spring's annual revenue grew approximately 17.54% year-on-year, while Wahaha's grew slightly by 0.97%, almost flat.

Wahaha's products

Foodinc compiled the lists released by the Federation over the past four years, as shown in the table below:

Wahaha and Nongfu Spring revenue from 2015 to 2018 (Data source: All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce)

It is worth noting that Nongfu Spring's growth momentum is particularly "rapid." The company's annual revenue was 10.9 billion yuan in 2015, and "soared" to 20.9 billion yuan in 2018. In just three years, Nongfu Spring's revenue scale has nearly doubled.

How is the company's profitability? Foodinc previously reported that according to the IPO prospectus disclosed by Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy Enterprise Co., Ltd., controlled by Yangshengtang, in June this year, Nongfu Spring's unaudited net profit in 2018 reached 3.616 billion yuan.

Let's look at other food companies.

In the above sub-list, Daohuaxiang Group, ranked second, focuses on baijiu (white liquor) and also has logistics, tourism, and other industries. According to its official website, the company owns baijiu series such as Daohuaxiang, Guan Gong Fang, and Sanmai. With operating revenue exceeding 53 billion yuan in 2018, it ranked 136th among China's top 500 private enterprises.

V V Group, which sells soy milk, milk powder, oatmeal, and other products, is a listed company (V V Food & Beverage Co., Ltd., 600300.SH), ranking 226th with annual revenue exceeding 36.7 billion yuan. Infinitus, a member of Lee Kum Kee Health Products Group, ranked 357th with annual revenue of approximately 23.9 billion yuan.

Huaze Group ranked 370th with annual revenue exceeding 23.3 billion yuan. The group currently owns brands such as Wuliangye aged baijiu (agency brand), Guyuelongshan aged baijiu (agency brand), Fujiu, and Xiangjiao.

Dali Foods (03799.HK), listed in Hong Kong, ranked 427th with annual revenue exceeding 20.8 billion yuan. Its well-known brands include Daliyuan, Lehu, Doudouben, and Kebike.

After reviewing each company, let's take an overall look.

Foodinc compared the "2018 Top 500 Chinese Private Enterprises List" and found some changes in these two sectors compared to last year.

2018 Top 500 Chinese Private Enterprises List -- Sub-list for food manufacturing and wine, beverage, and refined tea manufacturing (Data source: All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce)

First, there are two fewer companies on the list this year than last year. Herun Group was moved from "food manufacturing" to "agricultural and sideline food processing," and Tiens Group dropped out of the top 500 list this year.

Second, the good news is that comparing 2017 and 2018 operating revenue, all listed packaged food and beverage companies achieved revenue growth without exception.

On the other hand, overall, most of these food and beverage companies saw their rankings decline in the top 500 list, with only the "leader" Yili and Nongfu Spring bucking the trend. Yili rose by 1 place, and Nongfu Spring rose by 13 places.

Nongfu Spring's products

Foodinc noted that the Federation's "2019 Top 500 Chinese Private Enterprises Research and Analysis Report" released today mentioned that in 2018, the overall net sales margin, return on assets, and return on equity of the top 500 private enterprises all declined slightly year-on-year, but the decline was small.

"Four manufacturing sub-sectors, including leather, fur, feather and related products and footwear; food manufacturing; wine, beverage, and refined tea manufacturing; and smelting and rolling of ferrous metals, had relatively high operating efficiency," the report stated.

Source: Foodinc (ID: foodinc)

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