(Yicai) April 17 -- Shares in Kweichow Moutai slumped today after the Chinese liquor giant reported declines in both net profit and revenue in 2025 from the year before, the first such drop since it went public in 2001. However, the country’s leading baijiu maker still announced a record-high dividend for shareholders.

Kweichow Moutai’s share price [SHA: 600519] tumbled 3.8 percent to close at CNY1,407.24 (USD206) apiece.

The liquor maker’s net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company slumped 4.5 percent last year from the year before to CNY82.3 billion (USD12 billion) while revenue dipped 1.2 percent to CNY168.8 billion (USD24.7 billion), the Zunyi-based firm said yesterday.

The drop in revenue was mainly due to adjustments in the product mix of its soy sauce-aromatic liquor series, the company said. However, it did not offer an explanation for the decline in net profit nor did it provide any guidance for its earnings outlook.

Despite the disappointing performance, Kweichow Moutai said it plans to distribute a gross cash dividend of CNY27.993 (USD4.10) per share for 2025, its largest on record.

Kweichow Moutai’s operating costs jumped 8 percent from the year before to CNY14.8 billion (USD2.1 billion) on higher sales volume and rising production costs, it said. Selling expenses soared 28.6 percent to CNY7.2 billion, mostly due to increased spending on advertising and marketing.

Net cash flow plummeted 33.4 percent year on year to CNY61.5 billion (USD9 billion), mainly because its internal finance arm Kweichow Moutai Group Finance absorbed fewer deposits from sister companies, and also because more cash was locked up in deposits at other banks and was not immediately accessible.

The company’s advances on sales, which are a form of pre-payment by distributors, plunged 16.5 percent last year from the year before to CNY8 billion (USD1.1 billion). These advance payments directly reflect the market’s confidence in the firm’s products and the certainty of future revenue.

Moutai’s liquor sales climbed 0.73 percent to 58,500 tons last year from the previous year, while that of other series products advanced 3.88 percent to 57,700 tons.

Editor: Kim Taylor