Pendapatan melampaui ambang 3 miliar, saham Marubi terjebak dalam masalah "pajak lalu lintas" di mana pendapatan meningkat tetapi laba tidak bertambah

1 April, Marubi Biotech (603983.SH) opened lower, closing at 26.11 yuan per share, down 1.47%. The day before, Marubi Biotech released its 2025 annual report, revealing a dilemma of increasing revenue but not profit, reflecting the brutal reality of the current cosmetics industry fighting in the red ocean of traffic costs.

According to the data disclosed in the annual report, in 2025, Marubi Biotech achieved operating revenue of 3.459 billion yuan, an increase of 16.48% year-on-year; however, net profit attributable to the parent was only 247 million yuan, a significant decrease of 27.63% year-on-year; net profit after non-recurring gains and losses was 231 million yuan, down 29.2%.

The quarterly trend is even less optimistic. According to Tonghuashun iFinD data, Marubi Biotech achieved revenue of 1.009 billion yuan in the fourth quarter, a quarter-on-quarter increase of 47.13%, but a year-on-year decrease of 0.84%; meanwhile, net profit attributable to the parent was only 3.3469 million yuan, a sharp decline of 96.75% year-on-year, and also decreased by 95.18% quarter-on-quarter.

From the profit statement data, the significant increase in period expenses is a major reason for the profit decline. In 2025, Marubi Biotech’s gross profit margin was 74.29%, which still largely maintained the level of previous years, and even slightly increased.

The main issue lies in sales expenses. In 2025, the company’s sales expenses reached 2.057 billion yuan, an increase of 25.8% year-on-year; the proportion of operating income increased by 4.41 percentage points to 59.45% from last year’s 55.04%. Additionally, management expenses also increased by 48.36% year-on-year, reaching 161 million yuan. The company explained that this was due to increased depreciation and amortization expenses from the completion of Marubi Tower.

In the annual report, Marubi Biotech explained the decrease in net profit attributable to the parent year-on-year as mainly caused by high online traffic and promotion costs, as well as increased depreciation and amortization from Marubi Tower, leading to growth in sales and management expenses.

Note that the sales expenses in the fourth quarter of 2025 are particularly notable. Tonghuashun iFinD data shows that Marubi Biotech’s sales expenses in Q4 reached 642 million yuan, setting a new quarterly high since the company’s listing in 2019. However, whether looking at year-on-year or quarter-on-quarter, revenue growth did not keep pace with the growth of sales expenses, and the proportion of sales expenses in revenue continued to rise.

Considering that the fourth quarter includes the important sales event “Double Eleven” in the beauty industry, and given the industry’s heavy reliance on e-commerce channels today, the surge in sales expenses leading to increased revenue without profit growth may indicate that the company is paying higher “customer acquisition” costs to top platforms and live-streaming influencers.

Meanwhile, Marubi Biotech’s brand development may also face an unbalanced growth situation. The annual report shows that the Marubi brand achieved operating revenue of 2.547 billion yuan, an increase of 23.94% year-on-year.

The PL Lianhuo brand seems to have ended its rapid growth and entered a bottleneck period. In 2025, the PL Lianhuo brand achieved operating revenue of 906 million yuan, roughly flat year-on-year. In 2024 and 2023, the revenue growth rates for the PL Lianhuo brand were 40.72% and 125.14%, respectively.

By defining “biotechnology” as the core strategy, Marubi Biotech’s investment in research and development continues to increase. In 2025, the company’s R&D investment was 85 million yuan, an increase of 16.08% year-on-year, and this expenditure has maintained steady growth in recent years.