The "King of Sealing" LABUBU aims for POP MART to reach 30 billion for the whole year

POP MART achieved its best performance ever.

In the first half of the year, revenue reached 13.88 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of over 200%; adjusted net profit was 4.71 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 362.8%, both exceeding the total level for the entire year of 2024.

In the first half of the year, POP MART had 13 IPs with revenue exceeding 100 million yuan, of which 5 IPs surpassed 1 billion yuan in revenue.

The LABUBU series from THEMONSTERS demonstrated strong revenue-generating capabilities, achieving revenue of 4.81 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 668%, with its share rising significantly from 13.7% in the same period last year to 34.7%.

It is important to note that this achievement was made despite production capacity not fully meeting market demand.

The third-generation vinyl plush series "High Energy Ahead" and the "Strange Flavor Convenience Store" blind box figures launched by LABUBU, "one of the hottest IPs globally in the first half of the year," have been continuously sold out across multiple channels.

The backend production capacity is still tightly chasing demand.

Yuan Junjie, president of POP MART's supply chain center, revealed that the current monthly production capacity for plush products has reached about 30 million units, ten times that of the same period last year, and there has been more than a tenfold increase in July and August compared to the first quarter.

Although it is difficult to find a single doll, the explosive popularity of LABUBU and the vinyl series has brought in more audiences.

In the first half of the year, POP MART added 13.04 million registered members in mainland China, increasing the total to 59.12 million, with stable contributions to sales and member repurchase rate data.

The numerous IPs under its umbrella collectively supported the massive traffic brought by LABUBU and the vinyl series.

In the first half of the year, POP MART launched nearly 20 plush products around 10 IPs, including SKULLPANDA and BABYMOLLY; this led to a year-on-year revenue increase of over 12 times in the plush category, surpassing 6.1 billion yuan for the first time, exceeding the sales of figures.

SKULLPANDA, CRYBABY, and DIMOO all achieved more than double growth. Among the backup team, the emerging IP Xiao Ye HIRONO achieved over 200% growth, and the Star People reached 389 million yuan in performance in just half a year.

With surging demand, the online growth rate in both domestic and overseas markets significantly outpaced offline.

Live streaming has become one of the core scenarios for overseas e-commerce. POP MART has set up live streaming rooms in various regions worldwide and recruited local host teams, currently ranking among the top three in sales on TikTok in the U.S.

In the first half of the year, the proportion of overseas online sales increased significantly from 23.2% to 45.8% of total sales, while the domestic market rose from 26.7% to 35.5%.

Strong demand has given POP MART greater confidence. The company is leveraging LABUBU's popularity to accelerate its global expansion.

In the first half of the year, POP MART achieved triple-digit growth in its four major regions: China, Asia-Pacific, the Americas, and Europe, with the Americas growing more than tenfold, marking the first round of explosive growth in its international strategy.

Overseas stores have doubled compared to the beginning of the year, with a net opening of 70 stores in the first half of the year, and the average area of new stores increased by 25% year-on-year. It is expected that by the end of the year, the number will exceed 200, maintaining a pace of about 3 new stores per week in the second half of the year Management stated that several overseas markets are still in the initial penetration stage of opening their first stores or the first two to three stores. In the second half of the year, POP MART plans to further expand into emerging markets such as the Middle East, Central Europe, and Central and South America.

The internationalization strategy has further shifted towards direct sales led by the brand.

In April, POP MART made the largest organizational restructuring in five years, establishing regional headquarters in Greater China, the Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe.

In June, POP MART acquired 50% of its Singapore joint venture PopMart South Asia for RMB 112 million, achieving full control.

To support global expansion, POP MART significantly expanded its talent pool in the first half of the year, adding approximately 2,000 employees, a year-on-year increase of about 50%.

Chairman Wang Ning also stated plans to form a professional team of local overseas designers to further promote the brand's internationalization and localized innovation.

The continuous increase in the proportion of overseas revenue is expected to further optimize the overall profit structure.

In the first half of the year, POP MART's gross profit margin climbed to 70.3%, with the increase in overseas sales contributing 4 percentage points, a reduction in promotions and optimized procurement contributing 1.5 percentage points, and a decrease in licensing fees contributing 0.8 percentage points.

Under the cost dilution effect brought by economies of scale, the adjusted net profit margin reached 33.9%, an increase of 11.6 percentage points compared to the same period last year.

At the performance meeting, Chairman Wang Ning responded to the annual target, stating: “The guidance we set at the beginning of the year was RMB 20 billion, but it seems that achieving RMB 30 billion for the whole year is quite easy.”

Chief Financial Officer Yang Jingbing also added that the annual net profit margin is expected to reach around 35%.

Based on these two indicators, POP MART's annual net profit is expected to exceed RMB 10 billion, which will be more than three times that of 2024.

On August 20, POP MART's Hong Kong stock rose over 12%, with a market value exceeding HKD 420 billion, setting a new historical high. Based on the estimated profit of HKD 10.5 billion, the expected price-to-earnings ratio will be around 40 times, while the current dynamic PE of 52 times will be further reduced