Vitasoy Photo: VCG

The revenue of Hong Kong-based beverage maker Vitasoy declined by 18 percent according to its report for the first six months of fiscal year 2021/2022 released on November 25. The report also showed that the profit in this period sharply dropped by 95 percent, as a result of falling Chinese mainland sales. 

The market in Chinese mainland has traditionally been Vitasoy's largest income source which accounted for over 63 percent but has seen a steep decline recently. Its revenue on the Chinese mainland in the first six months of fiscal year 2021/2022 dropped nearly 30 percent, the company revealed. 

In addition, Vitasoy said in the report that due to the disappointing results and performance in Chinese mainland, Vitasoy's board of the company has not declared an interim dividend for the six months ended September 30, 2021.

In early July, 2021, a "lone-wolf" terrorist who turned out to be an employee of Vitasoy attacked a police officer in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region only to later commit suicide. A Vitasoy document showing the company had expressed its "deepest condolences" to the family of the attacker, which aroused anger among netizens in Chinese mainland and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Vitasoy released a statement the next day saying that the internal memo used "very improper wording" and caused widespread criticism was written by an "individual employee" noting that it was not authorized by the company.

However, the statement clearly failed to convince consumers. Multiple celebrities terminated their contracts with Vitasoy and the company's products were withdrawn from sale by e-commerce platforms and some physical stores.

Global Times