(Yicai Global) March 25 -- The chairman of Luckin Coffee said he is “pleased” after the Chinese coffee chain operator almost doubled its revenue and slashed its operating loss last year.

“We are very pleased to report strong overall performance in the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2021,” Chairman and Chief Executive Guo Jinyi said in a press release.

Luckin Coffee reported revenue of CNY7.9 billion (USD1.25 billion) for the year ended Dec. 31, the Xiamen-based company’s earnings report showed yesterday. Its GAAP-based operating loss narrowed to CNY539.1 million (USD84.6 million) from CNY2.59 billion in 2020.

In the fourth quarter, revenue jumped 81 percent from a year ago to CNY2.43 billion (USD381.7 million), while the GAAP operating loss shrank to CNY120.8 million (USD19 million) from CNY488.9 million in the same period of 2020.

“Overall, we are pleased with the efficiency of our store operations and increased benefits of scale and operating leverage,” Dr. Guo said. “These developments resulted in a material improvement in our self-operated store level margins and overall profitability profile during the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2021.”

Luckin Coffee opened 353 new stores in the fourth quarter, bringing the total number to more than 6,000. Income from its 4,397 self-operated coffee shops jumped 61 percent to CNY1.8 billion, while that from the 1,627 partnership stores soared 248 percent to CNY448.8 million.

The firm is energized and aware of the expected macroeconomic headwinds this year, including the recent resurgence of Covid-19 in China, Guo added.

Losses and expenses related to fabricated transactions and restructuring were CNY339.6 million and CNY475.3 million in 2021 and 2020, respectively. Luckin Coffee expects the figure to fall in the second quarter of this year following the successful completion of the provisional liquidation during the first quarter, it noted.

Editor: Futura Costaglione