Moutai reports further slowdown of growth rate

Kweichow Moutai Co reported a further slow down of its growth rate in 2013 in its annual report issued on Monday night.

Revenue rose by 16.88 percent year-on-year to 30.9 billion yuan ($5 billion), according to the financial report. Meanwhile, net profit increased by 13.74 percent year-on-year to 15.1 billion yuan. The year-on-year growth rate of net profit was 73.5 percent in 2011 and 51.9 percent in 2012.

Zhu Zhiming, founder of Zhizhuo Consulting, said official purchases of Moutai products used to make up 40 to 50 percent of the group's total sales, China Business News reported. But as the authority has clamped down on luxury spending by government organizations, Moutai has come under pressure from shrinking sales.

Moutai made a transition by emphasizing the mass consumption market in 2013. The company brought down prices of some middle-end products, and increased selling its products through new distributors and e-commerce sites.

Moutai said in the annual report that the company plans to expand capacity by enlarging its base liquor output to 3,000 metric tons per year through an investment of 2.9 billion yuan.