Revenue shrunk 32.29 per cent from RMB2.65bn (US$363.1m) to RMB1.79bn (US$179.2m).
Net profit attributable to shareholders fell 37.44 per cent from RMB726.6m (US$99.7m) to RMB454.5m (US$62.4m).
The Shenzhen Stock Exchange-listed company released its results for Q1 2025 on April 26.
The latest results continued a downward trend that the company had seen for the whole of last year.
Just about a month ago, the company reported in its FY24 annual results that total revenue fell 27.3 per cent while net profit plummeted 62.62. Increased competition from both international and domestic brands was said to be a key factor.
For Q1 2025, the company explained that revenue and profit had decreased from a “high base” of RMB2.65bn (US$363.1m) last year.
Sales of upgraded products from flagship joint health supplement brand Keylid and BYHEALTH protein powder also did not meet expectations, said the company.
Another factor was the declining footfall to offline pharmacies.
BYHEALTH said it has tried beefing up its online retail strategies but admitted it has yet to achieve growth in Q1 2025.
“In Q1 2025, the industry’s performance in various [sales] channels has continued to see diverging results. In the pharmacy channel, footfall and dietary supplement sales have continued to decline.
“And because the company had a high base recorded in the pharmacy channel during the same time last year, as well as new iterations of Keylid and protein powder finished product sales falling below expectations, the company’s revenue from offline channels has seen a huge decline from the last period last year.
“In the online channels, we have been improving our business strategies for different platforms, and the company has yet to achieve revenue growth during the reported period,” said the company.
Revenue from offline channels dropped 42.62 per cent to RMB988m (US$135.6m), while online sales also recorded a reduction of 15.78 per cent to RMB766m (US$105.1m).
This phenomenon is also seen by fellow Chinese health supplement company Kingdomway.
Last year, online channels contributed 57.3 per cent to China’s vitamin and dietary supplement sales, while sales from offline channels had dropped to 42.7 per cent - of which 20.3 per cent came from direct-selling and 16.1 per cent from pharmacies, the company said in its FY24 annual report.
It pointed out that market competition in China’s health foods industry has intensified in recent years, as an increasing number of international brands enter or prepare to enter the Chinese market.
“A main reason is because industry leading international companies are positive of China’s industry immense growth potential, and overseas brands have tapped on cross-border e-commerce and interest-driven e-commerce to rapidly gain a foothold in the China market.
“There is therefore ample competition with domestic brands, which has led to a further segmentation of the competitive landscape,” said the company in its FY24 report released earlier this month.
Sales down for all major brands
Revenue from all of BYHEALTH’s flagship brands had declined in sales in Q1 2025, following the trend from FY24.
Eponymous protein powder brand BYHEALTH’s sales was down 36.37 per cent to RMB983m (US$134.9m), that of Keylid dropped 46.15 per cent to RMB201m (US$27.6m).
Probiotic brand Lifespace’s sales decreased by 36.19 per cent to RMB77m (US$10.6m). Overseas, the brand recorded a growth of 5.94 per cent to RMB244m (US$33.5m).
