Wang Zhen / Yicai
(Yicai Global) April 5 -- Chinese home appliance maker Midea [SHE:000333] brought in almost CNY160 billion (USD23.2 billion) in revenue last year, up 14.7 percent on the year, according to its latest report.
The firm netted nearly CNY16 billion in profits, up 16.4 percent on the year, while it acquired Japanese Toshiba Home Appliances Corp. and Germany-based KUKA to lay foundations for its intelligence-based and internationalized businesses. Midea will continue to focus on merger and acquisitions worldwide and accelerate its expansion into the robotic and intelligent manufacturing sectors, it said.
Midea’s logistics, small domestic appliances, refrigerators and washing machines saw the fastest growth last year. Compared to last year, its logistics business grew 25 percent, small home appliances grew 22 percent, refrigerators and their components grew 31 percent while washing machines and relevant components grew 34 percent.
Backed by production bases worldwide, the Chinese firm was able to quickly expand into emerging overseas markets. In 2016, Midea’s revenue growth abroad was significantly faster than in the domestic market. It turned over CNY83 billion in China, up 5 percent on the year and making up 56.5 percent of total revenue, while overseas revenue soared 29.5 percent to CNY64 billion.
Last year, Midea’s Toshiba and KUKA acquisitions attracted media attention, but revenue from the German company was not included in the report for last year. The Toshiba acquisition boosted revenue by CNY7.5 billion, showing that Midea’s own home appliance manufacturing is still a major source of income and profit growth.
The Chinese company invested more than CNY30 billion in overseas mergers and acquisitions last year. Including 2016 and the first few months of this year, other acquisitions included Clivet, an Italian central air conditioning firm, and Servotronix, an Israeli motion control and automation solutions supplier.