Meituan reports profit rise in Q1 amid consumption recovery

SHANGHAI, May 25 (Xinhua) -- China's e-commerce platform Meituan Thursday reported an operating profit of 3.59 billion yuan (about 509 million U.S. dollars) in the first quarter of this year, turning from a loss to a profit.

The total operating revenue in the first three months jumped 26.7 percent year on year to 58.6 billion yuan, according to the company's unaudited financial results.

The financial report showed that during the period, Meituan continued to increase its investment in China's consumer market, as well as in technology research and development (R&D), with R&D spending rising to 5 billion yuan.

Revenue from core local commerce climbed to 42.9 billion yuan from January to March, up 25.5 percent year on year.

"During the quarter, the company saw healthy growth in all of its businesses, thanks to a strong recovery in local consumption," said Wang Xing, CEO of Meituan.