WH Group FY2025 Results: Revenue Climbs 8%, Net Profit Reaches USD 1.57 Billion, Special Dividends Follow Smithfield IPO

WH Group (00288) released its audited results for the year ended 31 December 2025.

Operating Performance • Revenue rose 8.0% year-on-year to USD 28.03 billion, driven by a 10.1% increase in pork revenue and a 3.8% rise in packaged-meats revenue. • EBITDA before biological fair-value adjustments gained 9.7% to USD 3.38 billion; the EBITDA margin stayed broadly stable at 12.0%. • Operating profit advanced 8.7% to USD 2.61 billion, with pork segment profit surging 62.4% to USD 0.58 billion. • Profit attributable to shareholders, before biological adjustments, improved 8.2% to USD 1.59 billion; basic EPS came in at 12.40 US cents.

Volume Trends • Packaged-meat sales slipped 1.5% to 3.05 million tonnes, mainly on softer China demand. • Pork sales expanded 8.6% to 4.09 million tonnes as slaughter volumes increased across all regions.

Regional Highlights • China contributed 30.3% of revenue and 35.8% of operating profit; packaged-meat revenue fell 4.8% as volumes weakened. • North America accounted for 54.3% of revenue and 53.3% of operating profit; pork profit rebounded sharply on higher hog prices and lower grain costs. • Europe delivered 15.4% of revenue and 10.9% of operating profit; packaged-meat profit grew 14.0% on volume gains and pricing discipline despite lower regional hog prices.

Cash Flow and Balance Sheet • Operating cash flow remained resilient at USD 2.53 billion. • Year-end cash and bank balances stood at USD 2.39 billion, supplemented by USD 1.21 billion in treasury products; unutilised banking facilities totalled USD 6.71 billion. • Net debt to equity eased to 9.7%, while net debt/EBITDA held at 0.4 x; average borrowing cost declined to 2.55%.

Capital Allocation and Corporate Actions • Smithfield Foods completed an IPO in January 2025 and a secondary offering in September, raising combined net proceeds of roughly USD 1.04 billion; WH Group retains an 87% stake. • The board declared two special cash dividends (HKD 0.18 and HKD 0.30 per share) and a distribution in specie of Smithfield shares, totalling about USD 0.82 billion to shareholders. • Regular dividends for 2025 amount to HKD 0.61 per share (interim HKD 0.20; proposed final HKD 0.41), up from HKD 0.50 a year earlier.

Investment & Capacity • FY2025 capex reached USD 0.61 billion, focused on facility upgrades, poultry expansion in China and Europe, and packaged-meat capacity in North America. • Announced post-year-end initiatives include a USD 1.30 billion replacement plant in Sioux Falls (production start targeted for 2028), the acquisition of Nathan’s Famous in the US, and the purchase of Germany’s Wolf Group to strengthen European packaged meats.

Key Metrics • Operating profit margin held at 9.3%; packaged-meat margin narrowed to 15.1% while pork margin improved to 3.7%. • Cash conversion cycle shortened to 39.7 days from 41.2 days. • Return on equity measured 14.3%, versus 15.7% in 2024.

Outlook Management anticipates continued uncertainties in 2026 but plans to prioritise packaged-meat growth, cost control, and further optimisation of the vertically integrated pork supply chain across China, North America and Europe.