(Yicai) March 27 -- Chinese hotpot chain Haidilao International Holding said net profit soared about 175 percent last year on the back of China’s consumption recovery, making up for losses during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Net profit was CNY4.5 billion (USD620 million) in the 12 months ended Dec. 31, the Jianyang-based company said in its annual earnings report yesterday. Revenue jumped 34 percent to CNY41.5 billion (USD5.7 billion) from a year earlier, with the number of diners reaching nearly 400 million.

Haidilao's net profit tumbled to CNY300 million (USD41.5 million) in 2020 from CNY2.35 billion the year before. But its earnings began to pick up after the easing of Covid-19 restrictions in China, with profit climbing back to CNY1.4 billion in 2022.

Haidilao slowed its pace of restaurant openings last year, increasing their number by just three to 1,374 from the end of 2022, the financial report showed. The main goal was to improve the profitability and operational efficiency of existing outlets, the company noted.

On March 4, Haidilao said it will adopt a franchise model to speed up the expansion of its restaurant network.

China's catering sector had record revenues of CNY5.29 trillion (USD731.7 billion) last year, a 20 percent gain on the previous year, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.

Haidilao [HKG: 6862] closed down 0.9 percent at HKD16.86 (USD2.16) a share in Hong Kong today. The Hang Seng Index fell 1.4 percent.

Editor: Martin Kadiev