THG, which owns e-commerce platforms like Lookfantastic, sells numerous well-known brand products, including MAC, Bobbi Brown, Estée Lauder, and Lancôme. As THG's influence in the beauty sector continues to grow, its beauty division once considered going public. As early as 2021, THG announced plans to spin off its internal beauty division, THG Beauty, and list it on the London Stock Exchange in 2022. The group believes this move will effectively focus investment on core growth areas, such as expanding its own brands.
Financial data shows that in the first half of the 2021 fiscal year, THG Beauty's revenue reached 460.8 million pounds (approximately 4.259 billion RMB), accounting for 48.1% of the group's total revenue and growing 55.9% year-on-year, higher than the group's overall revenue growth of 44.7%. However, later there was no further news about THG Beauty's independent listing, and the plan seemed unrealized. This undoubtedly reflects the robust growth of the division and its position as a global digital strategic partner.
According to THG's latest financial report for the first half of the year, the group's total revenue reached 934 million pounds (approximately 8.633 billion RMB), down 3.6% year-on-year. However, the adjusted EBITDA profit increased, reaching 48.8 million pounds (approximately 451 million RMB), a year-on-year growth of 3.6%. Despite the group's overall revenue growth appearing sluggish, the performance of the THG Beauty division remained impressive, achieving revenue of 531 million pounds (approximately 4.908 billion RMB) in the first half of 2024, a year-on-year growth of 5.7%, accounting for 57% of the group's total revenue. The adjusted EBITDA profit reached 32.6 million pounds (approximately 301 million RMB), a significant increase of 169.3% year-on-year.
The financial report points out that THG Beauty's revenue growth has driven an improvement in profit margins, contributing to the group's overall performance. Previous strategic reductions in acquisition and low-margin sales, as well as exiting loss-making categories, have facilitated an increase in the adjusted EBITDA profit margin from 3.7% to 6.1%.
Recently, THG announced plans to spin off its THG Ingenuity department to boost its stock price. Although the company has not provided a specific timetable for the spin-off, the UK's Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has approved the related tax clearance. This means that THG will only have two consumer-facing divisions left, namely beauty and nutrition. THG's CEO, Matthew Moulding, stated that splitting off Ingenuity will allow the group to focus on the more profitable beauty and nutrition businesses, which can generate cash flow and have the potential to pay dividends.
Against the backdrop of the new management team's inauguration and departmental restructuring, the company is set to face new changes and challenges. In the future, how to leverage the advantages of the beauty business in a highly competitive market to achieve certain growth will be a question that the company's leadership needs to ponder carefully.
With the rapid development of global technology, more and more enterprises are beginning to use artificial intelligence to enhance production efficiency and business innovation.
The application of artificial intelligence technology in different industries is significantly changing traditional business models. Many companies are optimizing their operational processes by introducing intelligent automation systems. Furthermore, AI is also helping enterprises achieve breakthroughs in product development and customer service.
Among them, the application of AI in fields such as healthcare, finance, and manufacturing is gradually expanding. Especially in the healthcare sector, through machine learning and big data analysis, the medical diagnostic process has become more efficient and accurate. This transformation improves patient care quality and helps alleviate the healthcare burden.
In the financial field, AI technology improves the accuracy of risk management and decision-making by analyzing vast amounts of data, helping financial institutions better serve their customers.
As technology continues to improve, artificial intelligence will affect our lives and work in more ways in the future.