(Yicai) June 7 -- Meituan is still in the process of making organizational changes to better support and integrate its core local life service businesses, the chief executive of the Chinese on-demand services giant said on the firm’s earnings conference call.

Meituan aims to cover all categories and scenarios of local services, including the on-demand delivery, in-store, accommodation, and travel businesses, Wang Xing said yesterday.

The Beijing-based company has been through several organizational overhauls in recent years, aiming to deal with growing competition, particularly from Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok. As of April, it has made four adjustments this year. The biggest in six years was in February, when Meituan merged its core business segments, including its in-store and to-home services.

The company will strive to provide effective platform exposure to each of its businesses and promote deeper cooperation and synergies between them, Wang noted, adding that it will also explore a more structured approach to provide subsidies and promotions.

In mid-May, Meituan upgraded its membership program in several pilot cities, expanding benefits from instant deliveries to in-store, hotel, and travel and the company plans to roll out this enhanced membership scheme to more regions.

In the future, Meituan will review the business performance, operational strategies, product development, and resource allocation of its core local life service businesses from a more comprehensive perspective, he pointed out.

Net profit at Meituan rose 36 percent to CNY7.5 billion (USD1 billion) in the first quarter from a year ago, its earnings report showed yesterday. Revenue jumped 25 percent to CNY73.3 billion (USD10.1 billion), with income from its core local commerce segment up 27 percent at CNY54.6 billion.

Meituan is confident about maintaining strong gross transaction value this year, Chief Financial Officer Chen Shaohui said. It expects healthy growth in operating profits at its in-store, accommodation, and travel businesses this year, thanks to improving operational efficiency, he noted.

Shares of Meituan [HKG: 3690] ended 2 percent lower at HKD110.40 (USD14.14) apiece in Hong Kong today. The stock is up 35 percent so far this year.

Editor: Futura Costaglione