Nongfu Spring's revenue last year first surpassed 50 billion yuan, and its bottled water business has resumed growth.

Farmer’s Spring Visual China File photo

Farmer’s Spring’s drinking water business has resumed growth.

On March 24, Nongfu Spring Co., Ltd. (Nongfu Spring, 9633.HK) released its FY2025 results. During the reporting period, Nongfu Spring’s revenue was RMB 52.553 billion, up 22.5% year over year. Revenue for the first time surpassed the RMB 50 billion mark; profit attributable to shareholders was RMB 15.868 billion, up 30.9%. Both revenue and net profit beat expectations. Nongfu Spring recommended a final dividend of RMB 0.99 per share, totaling approximately RMB 11.134 billion.

Nongfu Spring said that against the backdrop of the global beverage industry generally entering a stock/scale competition environment, Nongfu Spring has still delivered double-digit growth in both revenue and profit. Behind these results, it is neither the brutal game of a price war nor short-term stimulus from channel overstocking, but rather stems from its unique “water + beverages” dual-engine development layout: packaged water is the “keystone,” locking in a base scale with high-frequency, rigid demand; beverages are the “booster,” opening up the growth ceiling.

Zhong Shanjian, founder of Nongfu Spring, said in the earnings announcement that in 2025, Nongfu Spring’s drinking water business has resumed growth, up 17.3% compared with the same period in 2024. As of now, Nongfu Spring continues to hold the #1 position in China’s packaged drinking water market share.

Looking at specific segments, Nongfu Spring’s packaged drinking water products recorded revenue of RMB 18.709 billion, accounting for 35.6% of total revenue. The financial report pointed out that in 2025, Nongfu Spring added three new water source areas—Bada Gongsan in Hunan, Longmenshan in Sichuan, and Namjeling Tanggula Mountain in Tibet. In 2026, it further added the water source area of Jiaozi Snow Mountain in Yunnan. As of the date of the announcement, it has deployed 16 major water source areas nationwide.

Nongfu Spring’s tea beverage products also maintained steady growth. During the reporting period, they recorded revenue of RMB 21.596 billion, breaking through the RMB 20 billion mark, up 29.0% year over year compared with the same period in 2024, and accounting for 41.1% of total revenue.

It is understood that when Nongfu Spring’s “Oriental Leaf” was launched in 2011, it was not part of mainstream demand. But as the consensus of “reducing sugar-sweetened beverage intake” gradually took hold, sugar-free beverages began to enter everyday consumption scenarios, and sugar-free tea—being closer to a more natural form—became one of the most accepted categories.

Functional beverage products recorded revenue of RMB 5.762 billion, up 16.8% year over year compared with the same period in 2024, and accounting for 11.0% of total revenue. Juice beverage products recorded revenue of RMB 5.176 billion, up 26.7% year over year compared with the same period in 2024, accounting for 9.8% of total revenue. Including other beverage products such as soda water beverages, coffee beverages, and plant-based beverages, as well as agricultural products such as fresh fruit, “other products” recorded revenue of RMB 1.309 billion, up 10.7% year over year compared with the same period in 2024, accounting for 2.5% of total revenue.

The financial report shows that during the reporting period, Nongfu Spring’s gross margin increased by 2.4 percentage points from 58.1% in the same period of 2024 to 60.5%. This was mainly because the procurement prices of PET raw materials declined, as well as the procurement costs of packaging materials such as paper cartons and other raw materials such as white sugar. At the same time, Nongfu Spring controlled the sales share through e-commerce channels, better stabilizing the price order within the distribution system, and ensuring that the distribution system’s overall profitability remains stable and that the group’s healthy development is safeguarded.

In terms of sales and distribution expenses, Nongfu Spring’s 2025 data was RMB 9.8 billion, up 6.8% year over year. Sales and distribution expenses accounted for 18.6% of total revenue, down 2.8 percentage points from 21.4% in 2024. This was mainly because after the 2024 Olympic year, advertising and promotional expenditures during the reporting period were lower than in the same period of the prior year, and the logistics fee rate also declined, affected by the product sales volume’s mix/structure.

According to Great Wisdom VIP, as of the close on March 24, Nongfu Spring rose 3.36%, to HKD 42.44 per share.