(Yicai) April 30 -- Chinese coffee chain Luckin Coffee has appointed the chief executive officer of its largest shareholder Centurium Capital as its new chairman.

Luckin’s Chairman and CEO Guo Jinyi will resign from the chairman position, and Centurion Capital’s Chairman and CEO Li Hui will replace Guo as the firm’s new chairman, Luckin announced yesterday.

Guo became Luckin’s senior vice president of product and supply chain in October 2017. In July 2020, after the company’s financial fraud scandal, Guo replaced founder Lu Zhengyao as the new chairman to accelerate its nationwide expansion and rebuild its operations and reputation.

Centurium Capital has continued to invest in Luckin even during its darkest moments to ensure corporate governance and shareholding structure stability, Guo said about Li’s appointment during Luckin’s earnings conference call yesterday.

Li will bring his management and strategic experience to Luckin to promote the firm’s business at home and abroad, Guo noted, adding that he will continue to work closely with Li.

As the actual controller of Centurium Capital, Li was the first to support the Chinese private equity firm’s investment in Luckin. He served as the coffee chain’s director in the early days but resigned when the financial scandal broke out.

Luckin reported a net profit of CNY737 million (USD101.4 million) in the first quarter of the year, with an operating margin of 8.3 percent, according to the earnings report released yesterday. Revenue surged 41 percent to CNY8.9 billion (USD1.2 billion) from a year earlier. Luckin had 24,097 stores as of March 31.

Centurium Capital held 31.1 percent of Luckin’s total shares, equivalent to 53.6 percent of the voting rights, according to Luckin’s 2024 financial report. Guo held a 1 percent stake, equal to 0.7 percent of the voting rights.

Editor: Futura Costaglione