Moutai valuation surges as shares rise

Kweichow Moutai Co Ltd, China's signature high-end spirit maker, saw its share price hit a record high on Monday before edging down, even as analysts expect the firm to log further price gains due to product short supply and speculative interest.

Shanghai-listed Moutai closed 0.39 percent lower at 785.37 yuan ($122) per share on Monday after surging to 799.06 yuan during the day, and market value exceeding 1 trillion yuan. It became the first consumer stock with a market value that exceeded 1 trillion yuan, higher than London-based Diageo Plc and Brazil-based Ambev SA. Based on Monday's closing price, the company's valuation now stands at 986.6 billion yuan.

Among the 15 listed Chinese companies with high market valuations, Moutai is the only one from the consumer sector, with the others from sectors such as technology, finance, telecommunications and petroleum.

In 2017, Moutai, a distiller from Maotai town in Guizhou province, achieved revenue of 76.4 billion yuan, up 50.5 percent from 2016. This year, it aims to net revenue of 90 billion yuan, adding 18 percent or more, and it plans to produce and sell over 120,000 metric tons of white spirits, according to the company.

Last week, Moutai said it expects online sales to account for 60 percent of its total sales sometime in the future, compared with 30 percent now. Moutai earlier had released more than 200,000 bottles of its products into the market to stabilize prices and alleviate supply shortages, but scalpers had purchased most of the liquor, reported China Business News.

In December, the company said it would raise the prices of its products by 18 percent this year, which will be the first price change since 2012.

A 500-ml bottle of Moutai's classic Feitian 53 percent liquor now retails for 1,499 yuan on online platform JD and consumers need to make an appointment online to reserve it. In December, the price of the same product on JD was 1,299 yuan per bottle.