(Yicai Global) April 3 -- Numerous Chinese restaurant operators continued to expand abroad last year, despite the severe impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on their businesses, as their overseas operations prove to be a strong growth point for the firms.

Xiabuxiabu Catering Management China Holdings, whose debt expanded 20.4 percent last year from a year earlier to CNY350 million (USD50.8 million), added 86 restaurants in 2022, according to the hotpot giant's latest earnings report.

The firm opened its first offshore outlet in Hong Kong in 2019 and since then its revenue in Hong Kong and Singapore have been expanding at an annual compound growth rate of 98.5 percent, it said.

While another hot pot operator Haidilao International Holding added another 24 stores last year, despite being on a cost-cutting drive since 2021, according to its latest financial report.

Haidilao, which runs outlets in 11 countries, is spinning off its overseas business for a separate listing on the Hong Kong stock exchange, the Beijing-based company said in July last year. Revenue from its overseas operations has already bounced back noticeably this year from the same period in previous years.

Restaurant operator Jiumaojiu International Holdings, whose profit narrowed 85.5 percent last year from the year before to CNY49 million (USD7.1 million), opened 120 new restaurants in 2022.

Jiumaojiu will continue overseas expansion, the Guangzhou-based firm said. It already operates eateries under its Tai Er brand, which is famous for its signature sauerkraut fish dish, in Canada and Singapore. The company is looking to open more stores in countries with a high density of overseas Chinese, such as North America, Southeast Asia and Oceania, it added.

China’s catering sector logged a 6.3 percent slump in revenue in 2022 from the previous year to CNY4.3 trillion (USD637.6 billion), according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics. Over the last three years, the sector is expected to have lost CNY2.6 trillion.

But dining out in China is on the rebound. Revenue in the restaurant sector jumped 9.2 percent in the first two months from a year earlier, the NBS said.

Haidilao’s share price [HKG:6862] closed down 2.1 percent at HKD20.80 (USD2.60) today, Xiabuxiabu’s stock [HKG:0520] sank 5.2 percent to finish the day at HKD6.80 (USD0.86) while Jiumaojiu [HKG:9922] edged up 0.1 percent to close at HKD18.70 (USD2.40).

Editors：Shi Yi, Kim Taylor