Meituan-W fell by 4% in HK market though revenue in line with estimates.

China's largest food delivery firm Meituan 3690.HK posted fourth-quarter revenue on Friday that was largely in line with estimates, amid sluggish Chinese consumption.

Meituan's revenue reached 88.5 billion yuan ($12.21 billion) in the three months ended December, just above analysts' estimates of 87.7 billion yuan, according to LSEG data.

Meituan, whose app offers a wide range of services including bike-sharing, ticket-booking, and maps, reported a revenue of 337.59 billion yuan for the year, up from 276.75 billion yuan in 2023.

Its net profit for the 12-month period reached 35.81 billion yuan, compared to a profit of 13.86 billion yuan the year before.

"... We will expand our investments in cutting-edge technologies and the relevant applications, such as AI,

unmanned aerial delivery, and autonomous delivery vehicles," the company said in its financial report.

Low-cost and discounted products have become a focus for both price conscious shoppers and platforms, which has benefited Meituan as it delivers such goods for a small fee.

But competition in the sector is intensifying. In February, e-commerce giant JD.com 9618.HK announced that it was venturing into the food delivery business, and later in the month said it would start providing full-time food delivery riders with social insurance and housing fund contributions from March 1 under China's social security system.

Meituan quickly followed suit, announcing plans to provide social security benefits to its full-time and stable part-time riders, from the second quarter of 2025.

"As the industry leader, we are also dedicated to fulfilling our social responsibilities by creating employment opportunities, improving courier welfare," Meituan said in the earnings report.