Wuliangye Yibin Co.,Ltd. has unexpectedly postponed its annual report after its chairman was placed under investigation two months ago. This follows a sharp earnings decline in the third quarter that cost the company its position as the second-largest baijiu producer by market share.
The company, which had originally scheduled the release of its annual and first-quarter reports for April 29, announced late on April 28 that it would delay publication until after market close on April 30. The board apologized for the delay, citing the need for additional preparation and review of the periodic reports.
Notably, the last major announcement from Wuliangye prior to the delay was the news that Chairman Zeng Congqin was under investigation for serious disciplinary and legal violations. Zeng was detained shortly after the Lunar New Year holiday, and his name was promptly removed from the company’s official website. No further updates have been provided by authorities since then.
According to industry reports, following Zeng’s detention, Yibin’s state-owned assets supervision authority quickly intervened, appointing Liu Naigui, a member of the Yibin Municipal Party Committee, to temporarily oversee the overall operations of both Wuliangye Group and its listed entity. However, Wuliangye has not formally announced the appointment of a new chairman, leaving the top leadership position vacant during this transitional period.
Market observers widely believe that the delay in the financial report release is likely due to the absence of a chairman, which may have prevented the legal representative from signing the documents. An interim signatory could also prolong internal approval and review procedures.
Under A-share market rules, the statutory deadline for annual report disclosure is April 30 of the following year. Wuliangye’s original disclosure date was already close to the cutoff, and the further postponement means the company is barely meeting compliance requirements.
In addition to the chairman’s investigation, recent regulatory updates concerning board secretaries suggest further management changes may be ahead. Under new rules effective May 24, a board secretary is prohibited from concurrently serving as a manager, deputy manager in charge of business operations, or financial officer. If holding other roles, the board secretary must clearly separate responsibilities to ensure sufficient time and independence in performing duties.
Wuliangye’s current board secretary, Zhang Xin, also serves as deputy general manager, non-independent director, and financial director—a clear violation of the new regulations. Subsequent personnel adjustments appear inevitable.
Even without these complicating factors, Wuliangye’s own financial performance has been under pressure. In the third quarter of last year, the company reported a dramatic collapse in earnings, with both revenue and net profit falling by more than half. Revenue dropped 52.66% year-on-year to 8.174 billion yuan, while net profit excluding one-time items plunged 65.81% to 2.015 billion yuan. The results were comparable to performance levels from 2018, marking the largest single-quarter decline since the company went public over two decades ago.
Although the broader baijiu sector has faced challenges, few expected a top-tier producer like Wuliangye to suffer such a sharp downturn. The poor quarterly results allowed Shanxi Fenjiu to temporarily surpass Wuliangye in both revenue and net profit, breaking the long-standing “Moutai-Wuliangye” duopoly and costing Wuliangye its status as the second-largest baijiu firm.
While Wuliangye delayed its report, other leading baijiu companies released their annual results on schedule. For example, Kweichow Moutai recently reported annual revenue of 172.1 billion yuan, down 1.20% year-on-year, and net profit of 82.32 billion yuan, down 9.69%—the first annual decline since its listing. Still, in the third quarter, while most baijiu stocks saw declines, Moutai managed to post slight growth in both revenue and net profit.
By the fourth quarter, however, Moutai’s revenue fell 19.35% to 41.15 billion yuan, and net profit dropped 30.34% to 17.69 billion yuan, dragging down full-year performance. If even Moutai is struggling, the outlook for Wuliangye appears even more challenging.
Meanwhile, Shanxi Fenjiu continues to close the gap. It reported annual revenue of 38.72 billion yuan, up 7.52% year-on-year, and net profit of 12.25 billion yuan, a marginal increase. While Wuliangye still holds the second position in annual revenue and profit, the performance gap with Fenjiu has clearly narrowed.
This shift may signal that mid-to-high-end baijiu brands are gaining ground, gradually reshaping the traditionally rigid hierarchy of the premium baijiu market.
Market sentiment toward Wuliangye has also turned negative. Prior to the release of last year’s third-quarter results, GF Securities issued a bearish outlook, suggesting that the Q3 earnings collapse was only the beginning. The brokerage projected continued declines in 2025 and 2026, with net profit possibly falling to 23.65 billion yuan by 2026, and raised the possibility of Wuliangye and Luzhou Laojiao swapping market positions.
In terms of stock performance, Wuliangye’s shares have been trending downward since hitting a record high of 334.81 yuan in 2021. Last year, the stock fell more than 20%, dipping to just above 100 yuan. This year, it has repeatedly tested the 100-yuan threshold. On April 29, following the announcement of the report delay, the stock opened below 100 yuan, hitting an intraday low of 97.04 yuan before closing at 98.34 yuan. This marks the first time since September 2024 that the share price has fallen below 100 yuan, reaching its lowest level since April 2020.
Wuliangye’s challenges are closely tied to the cooling baijiu consumption market, but the company also faces deeper structural issues. Since last year, weak demand, price inversions, and high channel inventory have put significant pressure on distributors. Some have resorted to discount sales to raise cash, exacerbating price declines.
A report from the China Alcoholic Drinks Association indicated that in the first half of 2025, the most active price segments for sales were 300–500 yuan, 100–300 yuan, and under 100 yuan, while the most severe price inversions occurred in the 800–1,500 yuan, 500–800 yuan, and 300–500 yuan ranges. Wuliangye’s core product,普五 (Pu Wu), falls squarely within the most affected 800–1,500 yuan segment.
Historically, Wuliangye once surpassed Moutai as the industry leader. However, its strategy of rapid expansion through OEM licensing and brand sublicensing diluted brand value and led to long-term pricing chaos, cross-regional sales disruptions, and ultimately, loss of market leadership to Moutai.
Legacy issues continue to haunt Wuliangye. Imbalanced product structure, delayed channel reforms, and lagging brand management have limited its growth potential and valuation appeal compared to rivals like Moutai and Fenjiu.
With its share price falling below 100 yuan, earnings under pressure, leadership vacant, and management reshuffles looming, Wuliangye faces multiple headwinds. The task of steering the company out of its current slump now rests on the shoulders of a yet-to-be-appointed chairman.