After 12 years as a listed company, Zhejiang Wansheng Co.,Ltd. has reached a symbolic turning point. On March 23, the company released its annual report, forecasting a net loss attributable to shareholders of 960 million yuan for 2025. This marks its first annual loss since it began disclosing operational data in 2011 and effectively erases the profit accumulated over several previous years. Standing behind this sharp reversal in performance is a name that frequently appears in China's capital markets: Guo Guangchang.
Viewed in isolation, Wansheng's situation might appear as a typical cyclical downturn for a new materials company. However, when viewed through the lens of Guo Guangchang's career, it more closely resembles a microcosm of his established business approach. Guo's origins were not in finance. Born in 1967 into a poor rural family in Dongyang, Zhejiang, he studied hard to enter the Philosophy Department of Fudan University. After graduation, he became a teacher there, seemingly on a stable career path. But in 1992, amid a wave of professionals leaving government jobs for business, he abandoned his secure position. With 38,000 yuan in startup capital from university alumni, he founded Guangxin Technology in a small room of less than 15 square meters. This company was later renamed Fosun.
Fosun's early days were straightforward. Starting with market research, it quickly moved into pharmaceuticals and real estate. In 1995, Fosun earned its first 100 million yuan through a hepatitis B PCR diagnostic reagent, completing its initial capital accumulation. The 1998 listing of Fosun Pharmaceutical, which raised 350 million yuan, gave Guo a real understanding of the power of capital. From that point, his strategy became clear: use industry to make the first pot of gold, then use capital to expand the empire.
Over the next decade, Fosun expanded into real estate, steel, finance, consumer goods, and other sectors. Through continuous investment and acquisitions, it gradually built a capital system spanning multiple industries. This "industry + capital" model made Guo Guangchang a typical representative of the "92派企业家" (entrepreneurs who started businesses after Deng Xiaoping's 1992 Southern Tour).
Wansheng was incorporated into this system under the same logic. In 2021, Guo Guangchang, through Nanjing Iron & Steel Co., Ltd., took control of Wansheng. First, he acquired a 14.42% stake, then invested 1.493 billion yuan in a private placement, totaling 2.68 billion yuan for a 29.56% ownership. Although Nanjing Iron & Steel was later acquired by China Special Steel, the Wansheng shares were transferred to Fosun High Technology, leaving control unchanged. Wansheng officially became a "new materials puzzle piece" within the Fosun system.
However, over the next three years, reality began to deviate from expectations. From 2022 to 2024, the company's net profit attributable to shareholders declined consecutively. In 2025, it turned into a loss. The financial report shows the company achieved operating revenue of 3.378 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 13.98%, but reported a net loss attributable to shareholders of -960 million yuan, a decrease of 1028.55% compared to the previous year. A 964 million yuan asset impairment, primarily related to capacity adjustments at its Weifang, Shandong base, almost completely wiped out the year's potential profit.
If Wansheng's loss is an adjustment at the individual company level, the changes at Fosun overall are more systemic. On March 6, Fosun International announced an expected net loss attributable to shareholders of 21.5 to 23.5 billion yuan for 2025, nearly five times larger than the 4.35 billion yuan loss in 2024. This indicates that pressure is manifesting simultaneously, from single projects to the entire capital platform.
Some market observers have commented on Guo's approach: "Leverage is a double-edged sword. It creates immense success during upcycles but becomes a curse during downturns." Looking back at his history, from the campus of Fudan University to a global investment portfolio, Guo Guangchang's steps have almost always aligned with the rhythm of China's private sector expansion. He excels at switching between industries, using capital to link different assets, and achieving scale leaps through mergers and acquisitions. This capability had a powerful amplifying effect during growth cycles and once shaped Fosun's image as an omnipresent investor.
However, the same mechanism amplifies volatility when the cycle reverses. Asset impairments, profit declines, and debt pressures can emerge simultaneously and intensely.
Returning to Wansheng, this listed company, once expected to become a "new materials platform," is now facing its first real test since being integrated into the larger system. Revenue is still growing, and business is still expanding, but profits have turned negative, exposing structural contradictions all at once.
For Guo Guangchang, this is not an unfamiliar phase. From starting with 38,000 yuan to building a global industrial portfolio, he has experienced multiple cycle shifts. This time, however, the pressure is more concentrated and directly reflected on the financial statements. For Wansheng, the loss this year is not merely a performance fluctuation. It appears more like a signal that when capital expansion outpaces the industrial sector's ability to absorb it, the cost will inevitably come due at a certain point.
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