(Yicai) Aug. 26 -- Shares of Haidilao International Holding fell after the Chinese hotpot chain reported lower first-half profit and revenue, despite fast-paced growth at its delivery business.

Haidilao [HKG: 6862] closed 2.8 percent down at HKD14.47 (USD2.02) per share in Hong Kong, after sinking by as much as 6.5 percent earlier today. The stock has lost 9 percent of its value since the end of last year.

Net profit fell 14 percent to CNY1.8 billion (USD245.3 million) in the six months ended June 30 from a year earlier, according to the Jianyang-based company’s earnings report published yesterday. Revenue fell 3.7 percent to CNY20.7 billion (USD2.9 billion).

China’s dine-out restaurant sector is under pressure as competition intensifies amid consumer belt-tightening. Restaurant sales, Haidilao’s mainstay business at 90 percent of revenue, fell 9 percent to CNY15.6 billion, while income at its delivery business, accounting for just 4.5 percent of overall revenue, surged 60 percent to CNY581.2 million (USD81.2 million).

Haidilao said weaker table turnover and the initial rejigging of new dining concepts weighed on its first-half results. Daily table turnover at its self-operated restaurants was 3.8 times, down from 4.2 times a year ago, mainly due to the impact of stiffer competition and evolving customer needs, the firm said.

As of June 30, Haidilao had 1,363 restaurants, including 1,299 self-operated eateries in the Chinese mainland and 23 self-operated stores in Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan. The rest were franchises.

Haidilao will continue to enhance its dining experience, diversify its business strategy, integrate the use of new technologies to adjust its organizational structure, explore franchise business models, and pursue high-quality asset acquisitions to further diversify its catering business and customer base, it noted.

Editor: Futura Costaglione