Saint Bella Group (2508.HK) has issued a positive profit alert for the six months ended 30 June 2026. The Group expects to record revenue of at least RMB 608.0 million—a year-on-year growth of at least 35%—and an adjusted net profit of at least RMB 60.0 million, up over 54% year-on-year.
Across the family care sector—where average consumer spend remains under pressure and expansion costs are high—scale and margin typically move in opposite directions. Saint Bella Group has delivered concurrent improvements on both fronts.
Normalizing the Base: Underlying Operating Power
The statutory net profit figure warrants context. Statutory net profit is expected to be at least RMB 53.4million, compared to RMB 326.9 million in H1 2025. This variance bears no relation to operational health. In H1 2025, the Group recognized a one-off, non-cash fair value gain of RMB 318.2 million on pre-IPO financial instruments. Following its listing on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, these instruments were fully converted into ordinary shares, eliminating further fair value adjustments.
Adjusted net profit is therefore the true measure of year-on-year performance. The elevated 2025 base was an accounting event; this year’s growth reflects core operating capability. As a company that listed in 2025, this marks the first reporting period where Saint Bella’s core earnings power is presented cleanly to the market.
A Reinforced Core Business
Postpartum care centers remain the Group’s core business and revenue anchor. The alert demonstrates steady improvements in brand premium and average spend per customer. In an industry highly dependent on word-of-mouth and localized execution, core business stability provides the primary foundation for expansion.
Deepening core capabilities also serves as an efficient client acquisition strategy for downstream services. The trust built during a client’s postpartum stay is an asset that is difficult to replicate, enabling Saint Bella to cross-sell adjacent services far more cost-effectively than acquiring cold traffic.
Expanding the Lifetime Value: From 28 Days to Full-Cycle Family Care
While a standard postpartum stay lasts 28 days, customer needs extend far beyond. During the period, Saint Bella’s adjacent business lines—postpartum recovery care (STB Institute), home-based nursing (PrimeCare), and health nutrition (Guang He Tang)—all demonstrated strong growth:
– Guang He Tang: Positions itself as a full-cycle Chinese nutritional brand for women, spanning pregnancy, postpartum recovery, and menopause.
– STB Institute: Delivers specialist care for expectant/new mothers and women’s long-term wellness, reinforcing offline touchpoints and brand positioning.
– PrimeCare: Introduced an age-tiered childcare program tailored for infants across developmental stages, extending customer engagement into early childhood.
None of these extension businesses require acquiring clients from scratch; they scale on the existing customer base, systematically improving the Group’s overall revenue mix.
Twin Growth Engines: Organic Network Expansion & Strategic M&A
– Organic Growth: Saint Bella continued expanding into new Chinese cities throughout H1 2026. Internationally, the opening of its first Baby Bella store in Singapore in April marked a shift from single-brand internationalization to a coordinated, multi-brand global strategy.
– Strategic Acquisition: On 22 June 2026, the Group acquired Freya, a leading maternal and infant care brand in Wuhan with 13 years of local presence. Freya operates three standalone centers in prime districts (including a flagship 15,000 sq. m. facility with 160+ suites). This transaction doubles Saint Bella’s directly operated center count and capacity in central China while enhancing its standalone operational capabilities. Because the deal closed near period-end, its financial contributions will begin reflecting in H2 2026.
AI-Driven Operational Efficiency
Supported by refined management systems, Saint Bella’s selling and administrative expense ratios declined year-on-year. Dr. Bella, the Group’s proprietary domain-specific large language model, was integrated into in-Centre operations and home-based services, boosting workforce productivity. Commercialization of its AI agent business also achieved its first revenue breakthrough. Technology continues to serve as an efficiency driver, helping optimize cost structures as operations scale.
Share Buybacks & Full-Year Outlook
Saint Bella Group has conducted regular share repurchases, reinforcing management’s confidence in the company’s intrinsic value and enhancing earnings per share (EPS). Looking ahead, the Group will continue executing its dual strategy of deepening core business capabilities and driving organic/inorganic network expansion across domestic and international markets.
