This article only represents the author's own views.
It’s not easy being in hygiene. At least that’s the case in increasingly cost-conscious China these days, where retail sales of daily-use items grew just 2.3% in the first half of the year, trailing 3.7% growth for all consumer goods, due to fierce competition in the personal care market. Leading hygiene products manufacturer Hengan International Group Co. Ltd. (1044.HK) wasn’t immune from the challenges, reporting a year-on-year revenue decline for the six-month period, according to its latest interim results released earlier this month. But the company’s relatively sound report – including profit growth – also made it an outlier in its field as one of China’s top sellers of tissue, sanitary napkins and disposable diapers.
Hengan’s latest results show its profit rose 15% year-on-year to 1.41 billion yuan ($200 million) in the first half of 2024, as it left its interim dividend unchanged at 0.7 yuan per share. But its revenue fell 3% during the period to 11.84 billion yuan. Revenue for its core tissue paper business, accounting for more than half of its total, fell 3.1% during the period to 6.95 billion yuan. Revenue from its second-biggest product line of sanitary napkins also fell 2.2% year-on-year to 3.15 billion yuan.