HELENS (09869) issues a profit warning, expecting a mid-term net profit of approximately 12 million to 16 million yuan.

HELENS (09869) announced that it expects: (i) the group's revenue for the six months ending June 30, 2026, to be between approximately RMB 220 million and RMB 260 million, compared to approximately RMB 291 million for the six months ending June 30, 2025. The decline in revenue in the first half of 2026 is primarily due to a decrease in the number of directly operated stores compared to the first half of 2025, as well as the impact of market fluctuations, leading to a downturn in store revenue performance in the first half of 2026 compared to the first half of 2025; (ii) the group's adjusted net profit (measured in accordance with non-Hong Kong Financial Reporting Standards) for the first half of 2026 to be between approximately RMB 22 million and RMB 26 million, while the group's adjusted net profit for the first half of 2025 was approximately RMB 54.83 million (calculated as per the criteria described in this announcement); and (iii) the group will record a net profit for the first half of 2026 in the range of approximately RMB 12 million to RMB 16 million, whereas the net profit for the first half of 2025 was approximately RMB 50.33 million. The decrease in net profit is mainly due to the decline in operating revenue in the first half of 2026 and the implementation of a new pricing structure starting in April 2026, which involves reducing the prices of all beverages. However, due to existing inventory in the original supply chain that still needs to be consumed, and the time lag in the design and production cycle of the new supply chain's inventory, this has resulted in the noted decrease.