Soon after Hou Yameng, the son of Hou Juncheng, the actual controller of the company, took over as general manager, the domestic beauty leader Proya (603605. SH) delivered a solid third-quarter result.

In the first three quarters of 2024, Proya achieved revenue of 6.966 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 32.72%, and net profit attributable to the parent company of 999 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 33.95%.

Bethany (300957.SZ) followed closely by Bethany () with a revenue of 4.018 billion yuan and a net profit attributable to the parent company of 415 million yuan, and Bloomage Biotech (688363.SH) with a revenue of 3.875 billion yuan and a net profit attributable to the parent of 362 million yuan.

According to the 21st Century Business Herald reporter, from the perspective of the rhythm of the big promotion, compared with the 38th Festival, 618 in the first half of the year and the double 11 promotion at the end of the year, the third quarter is the marketing off-season for the domestic beauty market.

At the same time, the overall performance of the domestic beauty market is sluggish, such as Shanghai Jahwa (600315. Lin Xiaohai, chairman, CEO and general manager of SH), mentioned at a recent performance briefing, "In the third quarter of this year, the beauty industry showed a negative growth trend due to the changes in the rhythm of Double 11 and weak market demand, with an overall decline of about 6%. ”

In this context, Proya can be said to be growing against the trend and outperforming the beauty industry.

Online and multi-brand efforts

In the first three quarters of 2024, Proya achieved revenue of 6.966 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 32.72%, and net profit attributable to the parent company of 999 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 33.95%, with double-digit growth in core indicators.

Looking at the third quarter of 2024 alone, Proya's revenue will be 1.965 billion yuan and the net profit attributable to the parent company will be 298 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 21.15% and 20.72% respectively.

For performance growth, the company summarized the two major factors as "year-on-year growth in online channel revenue" and "steady growth of small brands".

Talking about the company's online channel strategy, Hou Juncheng, chairman of Proya, said at the company's online performance briefing on November 1, "In 2024, the company will have a comprehensive layout on the Douyin platform to find the right people→ find new people for the right content→ and break the circle of talents; Sort out the crowd segmentation and undertake pallets in their respective broadcast rooms, and open up the whole link of the large single product series of people; Dabo expands in-depth cooperation, refines the crowd and matches people (talents) with goods; In addition, "Tmall Live organically combines the head, the second echelon, and the store's self-broadcast to create multiple product echelons such as new products, exclusive goods, and brand benefits." ”

On the brand side, in addition to the main brand Proya, the company has also laid out a number of its own brands such as Caitang, Yuefuyuan, Off&Relax, etc., forming a brand matrix with skin care, makeup, washing and care and other tracks as the prototype.

According to the company's main operating data for the third quarter, among the 1.965 billion yuan of revenue, skin care (including cleansing) products contributed 1.654 billion yuan, accounting for the majority, beauty and makeup products contributed 233 million yuan, and cleaning and care products contributed 75 million yuan.

In the skin care track, in addition to the well-known main brand Proya, the company has also laid out the brand Yuefuyuan, which is positioned as "oily skin care", and the high-efficacy skin care brand CORRECTORS.

It is worth mentioning that the above operating data shows that the average selling price of the company's skin care (including cleansing) products increased from 64.36 (yuan/branch) in the third quarter of 2023 to 76.75 (yuan/branch) in the second quarter of 2024, and further increased to 80.22 (yuan/branch) in the third quarter of 2024, an increase of 24.64% year-on-year and 4.52% quarter-on-quarter.

Proya explained that the increase in the average selling price of skin care products (including cleansing) products is mainly due to the change in the sales proportion of large single products (essences and creams) with higher unit prices.

In the makeup track, Proya mainly lays out the Caitang brand and the "INSBAHA primary color Porta" brand, while in the washing track, the main brands include Off&Relax and Shock.

Proya also further revealed that "the proportion of sales of beauty and makeup brand INSBAHA and toiletry brand has increased".

It is worth mentioning that in early September, Proya had just undergone a "change of leadership", and Hou Yameng, the son of Hou Juncheng, the actual controller of Proya, took over as the general manager of the company.

According to the announcement, Hou Yameng has worked in the e-commerce department of Proya Cosmetics Co., Ltd. since 2014, and has served as the company's director and deputy general manager since September 2021. BHD. Director.

Fang Yuyou, the company's co-founder, director and general manager, withdrew from the list of directors and senior executives, but he "will continue to be the company's co-founder and board advisor in the future, assisting the company's strategic planning and operation and management support".

Differentiation of performance

In addition to Proya, domestic beauty companies such as Shanghai Jahwa, Bethany, and Bloomage Biotech have all disclosed their third quarter reports for 2024.

Among them, the same outstanding performance as Proya is Marubeni (603983. SH）。

In the first three quarters of 2024, Marubeni achieved revenue of 1.952 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 27.07%, and net profit attributable to the parent company of 239 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 37.38%.

In terms of categories, Marubeni's skin care, beauty, eye and cleansing products contributed revenue of 215 million yuan, 202 million yuan, 124 million yuan and 55 million yuan respectively in the third quarter of 2024.

It is worth mentioning that in the third quarter of 2024, the average selling price of Marubeni's skin care products increased by 43.07%, a significant increase. The company explained that it was mainly due to the increase in the proportion of revenue of recombinant collagen series products with higher prices in the current period and the change in product structure that drove up the average selling price.

Some people rejoice and some people worry. Bethany's revenue in the first three quarters of 2024 was 4.018 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 17.09%, but the net profit attributable to the parent company was 415 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 28.39%, which can be described as an increase in revenue but not profit.

Bethany explained that the decline in net profit attributable to the parent company was mainly due to the slight decline in the company's gross sales margin due to the product (brand) sales structure and other reasons, as well as the comprehensive impact of the phased (or project) increase in various operating expenses.

Specifically, in the first three quarters of 2024, "Winona" and other major brands contributed a total of 3.637 billion yuan in revenue, a year-on-year increase of about 5.98%, and a gross sales margin of about 75.34%; The "Ji Rui (Za)" and "PURE&MILD" brands of Yuejiang Investment acquired by the company contributed revenue of 381 million yuan, and the gross sales margin was about 58.37%.

In contrast, there are also some beauty leaders who are under pressure.

Shanghai Jahwa's revenue in the first three quarters of 2024 was 4.477 billion yuan, down 12.07% year-on-year, and the net profit attributable to the parent company was 163 million yuan, down 58.72% year-on-year.

Revenue and net profit attributable to the parent company both declined, as well as Shuiyang shares (300740. SZ), the company's revenue in the first three quarters of 2024 was 3.045 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 9.84%, and the net profit attributable to the parent company was 94 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 47.60%.