Results Highlights:
(17 March 2026 - Hong Kong) - Hengan International Group Company Limited ("Hengan", "Hengan International" or the "Company", SEHK stock code: 1044, together with its subsidiaries, the "Group") announces today its annual results for the 12 months ended 31 December 2025 (the "Year").
During the Year, Hengan seized growth opportunities arising from the increasing demand for upgraded personal care products and new retail channels. Through stable pricing strategies, product premiumisation, and omni-channel sales layout, Hengan further consolidated its profitability and market leadership position. With the effective implementation of various strategies, the Group's tissue paper revenue resumed growth in 2025. Combined with the benefits of omni-channel sales and increased sales of premium products, these measures effectively mitigated the negative impact of intense price competition on hygiene products sales. The Group's revenue in 2025 recorded a 1.8% year-on-year ("y-o-y") growth to approximately ("approx.") RMB23.07 billion (2024: RMB22.67 billion).
Leveraging the trend of consumption channel fragmentation and catering to new consumption patterns, the Group vigorously developed its e-commerce and new retail channels. During the Year, in response to the demand for immediate replenishment and emergency purchases of household products, the Group expanded into emerging instant retail channels. Revenue from e-commerce and new retail channels increased by 10.1% y-o-y, accounting for 36.9% of total sales (2024: 34.1%). The e-commerce and new retail channels contributed approximately 42.1% and approximately 36.0% to the sales of tissue paper business and hygiene products business, respectively. On the other hand, the Group actively explored new growth areas in traditional channels, with sales efficiency particularly notable in the hygiene products market. Additionally, the Group continued to drive product premiumisation and enrich its product portfolio to meet consumers' rising expectations for functionality and added value, while enhancing brand image and injecting new momentum into its long-term development.
During the year under review, the growth in tissue paper sales effectively offset the decline in hygiene products sales and the increase in associated promotional expenses, resulting in the Group's overall gross profit for 2025 increasing by approx. 6.6% y-o-y to approx. RMB7.81 billion (2024: RMB7.32 billion). In the second half of 2025, with reduced promotional spending on tissue paper and a recovery in hygiene products sales, leading to an improvement in the Group's full-year gross profit margin to approx. 33.8% (2024: 32.3%).
During the Year, operating profit increased by 3.9% to approx. RMB3.48 billion (2024: RMB3.35 billion), mainly due to the improvement in the Group's overall gross profit. Profit attributable to equity holders of the Company increased by approx. 10.3% to approx. RMB2.53 billion (2024: RMB2.30 billion). In 2025, the Group's basic earnings per share was RMB2.227 (2024: RMB2.015).
The Board of Directors declared a final dividend of RMB0.70 per share (2024: RMB0.70 per share) for the year ended 31 December 2025. Together with the interim dividend of RMB0.70 per share (2024: RMB0.70 per share) already paid, the full-year dividend amounts to RMB1.40 per share (2024: RMB1.40 per share), with a total payout of approx. RMB1.63 billion (2024: RMB1.63 billion), maintaining a stable dividend amount.
Commenting on the Group's annual results, Mr. Sze Man Bok, Chairman of Hengan International, said, "In 2025, amid rising uncertainties in the global economic environment and intensifying international trade frictions, China implemented more proactive and effective macroeconomic policies. The national economy progressed under pressure, with notable achievements in high quality development. Facing a complex and volatile market environment, the Group remained focused on profitability, continuously enhancing its comprehensive competitive advantages, advancing product premiumisation and diversification, deepening its omni-channel sales layout, steadily expanding its market share, and achieving stable business development."
Hygiene Products (including Sanitary Napkins and Disposable Diapers)
During the Year, domestic brands adopted aggressive promotional strategies to capture market share, particularly evident in the e-commerce segment, resulting in a certain degree of impact on the Group's sanitary napkin product sales. As a result, the hygiene products business recorded a revenue decline of approx. 5.3% to around RMB6.57 billion (2024: RMB6.94 billion), accounting for approx. 28.5% of the Group's total revenue (2024: 30.6%). Nevertheless, hygiene products sales successfully reversed the downward trend seen in the first half of 2025, achieving a mid-single-digit growth in the second half. This recovery was primarily driven by stronger sales in traditional channels, the continued popularity of premium series "Tianshan Cotton" and "Q • MO," and the low base effect from the same period in 2024, together signaling a gradual recovery trajectory. Looking ahead to 2026, market competition is expected to remain intense. With the rising contribution of premium high-margin products and the sustained benefits of the omni-channel sales strategy, the Group's annual hygiene products revenue is expected to remain stable.
During the Year, the sustained growth in premium product sales and stable raw material prices partially offset the impact of declining sanitary napkin sales and increased promotional expenses. As a result, gross profit margin of the hygiene products business dropped to approx. 58.3% in 2025 (2024: 60.4%).
Tissue Paper
Benefiting from the rising contribution of premium tissue sales and double-digit growth in new retail channels, the Group's tissue business returned to growth in 2025, with revenue increasing by approx. 5.6% y-o-y to around approx. RMB14.17 billion (2024: RMB13.42 billion). Supported by the Group's effective "value competition" strategy, category diversification initiatives, and efficiency gains from omni-channel sales, market share continued to expand steadily. Tissue sales accounted for approx. 61.4% of the Group's total revenue (2024: 59.2%). Looking ahead to 2026, industry consolidation and the upward trend in wood pulp prices are expected to ease price competition, while demand for premium, high-quality tissue products is forecast to continue rising. The Group will further increase the penetration of its premium portfolio and optimise its channel strategy, enabling the tissue business to sustain stable and resilient growth.
During the year, with wood pulp prices remaining at relatively low levels, cost pressures on the tissue business eased, while promotional expenses gradually declined. Coupled with the steady increase in the sales contribution of premium, higher-margin products, the gross profit margin improved. As a result, the Group's tissue business gross profit margin rose to approx. 23.0% in 2025 (2024: 18.9%). Looking ahead to 2026, industry consolidation and the upward trend in wood pulp prices are expected to ease price competition, while demand for premium, high-quality tissue products is forecast to continue rising. The Group will further increase the penetration of its premium portfolio and optimise its channel strategy, enabling the tissue business to sustain stable and resilient growth.
In recent years, the Group has introduced a diversified portfolio of wet wipes, providing strong growth momentum to the Group's revenue. During the year, sales of wet wipes rose significantly by 30.0% y o-y to approx. RMB1.58 billion (2024: RMB1.22 billion). Their contribution to the tissue business increased markedly to approx. 11.1% (2024: 9.1%). In addition, wet wipes deliver the highest gross profit margin among all tissue products, underscoring their exceptional profitability.
The Group will continue to focus on developing high-quality products, enhancing production efficiency, and expanding capacity to capture growth opportunities in the domestic household paper market and reinforce its leading industry position. During the Year, the annual production capacity was increased to 1.725 million tonnes. This forward-looking capacity expansion provides a solid foundation for the Group's future business growth.
Other Income (including revenue from raw material trading business, the household products business, and international business development)
During the Year, The Group's other income increased by approx. 0.9% y-o-y to approx. RMB2.33 billion (2024: 2.31 billion). Revenue from the household products business was approx. RMB316 million (2024: RMB252 million), representing a y-o-y increase of approx. 25.2% and accounting for approx. 1.4% of the Group's revenue. This growth was primarily driven by an increase in the export business of household products. International business development revenue primarily includes finished products and raw paper export operations, business related to medical products and income from Malaysia's Wang-Zheng Group. In 2025, turnover of international business development was approx. RMB1.66 billion (2024: RMB1.65 billion), accounting for approx. 7.2% of the Group's overall sales (2024: 7.3%). The Group's Wang-Zheng Group business in Malaysia saw a steady development during the year and its turnover increased by 6.8% to approx. RMB520 million (2024: RMB490 million) accounting for approx. 2.2% of the Group's overall sales (2024: 2.1%).
Outlook
Looking ahead to 2026, Mr. Sze Man Bok, Chairman of Hengan International, said, "Despite the complex and volatile external environment, China's economy remains grounded in a solid foundation, multiple advantages, strong resilience, and vast potential. Supported by proactive and effective macroeconomic policies, China's economic development is expected to maintain its steady and positive trajectory. Backed by rigid demand, the domestic sanitary products industry is expected to maintain stable growth in the long run. Moving forward, the Group will deepen its focus on the two core businesses of tissue paper and sanitary products, continuously enhance its brand image, seize the opportunities in the 'new retail' era, drive high-quality product R&D and upgrades, and actively expand into new markets to further scale its business. At the same time, the Group will continue to pursue industry extension as the long-term development goal, actively expanding into feminine care, infant and childcare, and elderly care segments. By leveraging the flexible application of smart technologies, the Group will further strengthen competitiveness, gradually bring the Hengan brand onto the international stage, and remain committed to becoming a 'global top-tier household products enterprise'."
Company Background
Hengan International was established in 1985. It is principally engaged in production, distribution and sales of personal hygiene products in mainland China. The shares of Hengan International have been listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange since 1998. The Group has been a Hang Seng Index constituent since June 2011, and its stock has been included in the Hang Seng Sustainability Benchmark Index (HSSUSB) and the Hang Seng ESG 50 Index in September 2024 and January 2026 respectively. Hengan owns a number of well-known brands, including Hearttex, Space7 and Anerle, and its tissue paper have long maintained a leading market share in China.
For further information, please contact:
iPR Limited
Callis Lau / Tina Law / Lorraine Luk / Kayden Hou
E-Mail: hengan@ipr.com.hk
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