Qinghai Spring, a race against time to avoid delisting
Zebra Consumer Chen Xiaojing
*ST Spring approaching the brink of delisting is not surprising.
After the myth of Jicao 5X came to an end, the company has been on a transformation path, ultimately grasping the lifeline of liquor distribution and pinning high hopes on the market performance of the ultra-premium liquor brand "Tinghua".
However, Tinghua has not secured a place in the competition of the mainstream liquor consumer market. Instead, it has taken an unconventional approach, attempting to cater to the needs of high-end business clientele.
With its high price, lack of historical heritage, and the current adjustment atmosphere in the liquor industry, Tinghua has not heard the sound of bubbling liquor.
For the company, the most critical task now is to desperately preserve its listing status. Only by staying on the capital market table can it have a future.
How to Preserve Listing Status
At this time every year, the hearts of small and medium investors in *ST Spring (600381.SH) are undoubtedly hanging in the air, and this year's situation remains tense. Recently, after the company responded to the regulatory inquiry on its third-quarter report, concerns about its delisting have been spreading in the stock forum.
In fact, since the company was marked with an asterisk and ST in April this year, these concerns have been fermenting.
With the disclosure of the first three quarters' report, how the company will "preserve its listing status" and remain active in the capital market has become a hot topic among investors.
In the first three quarters of 2025, the company achieved operating revenue of approximately 213 million yuan, with a net loss attributable to the parent company of 2.8317 million yuan and a non-GAAP net loss of 5.8904 million yuan.
If the operating revenue for 2025 is less than 300 million yuan, and the lower of total profit or non-GAAP net profit is negative, or if the delisting risk warning cannot be revoked, the company's stock will be delisted.
In previous years, Qinghai Spring had "good luck". From 2020 to 2023, it easily crossed the 100-million-yuan threshold, avoiding the risk of being labeled ST. But in 2024, misfortune struck.
In April 2024, the new "National Nine Articles" were introduced, adjusting the delisting financial indicators for loss-making companies on the main board from two consecutive years of negative net profit and revenue below 100 million yuan to two consecutive years of negative net profit and revenue below 300 million yuan.
In January 2025, *ST Spring optimistically estimated that the adjusted operating revenue for 2024 would be between 305 million yuan and 333 million yuan, right on the line between life and death. However, the officially disclosed annual report showed operating revenue of only 270 million yuan, with adjusted operating revenue of approximately 224 million yuan.
Business Struggles to Gain Momentum
The fundamental reason for *ST Spring's current predicament lies in the fact that its flagship product, Jicao 5X powder tablets, was required to halt production and sales due to regulatory policy adjustments, bringing an end to its commercial myth. The company lost its pillar source of income, and its business scale rapidly shrank, leaving only three major businesses: cordyceps sinensis raw material sales, advertising, and investment. Neither the scale nor the performance boost from these businesses is sufficient to shoulder the burden.
Since 2018, the company has ventured into the liquor distribution field, testing the waters with small-bottle liquor Lianglu, and later launched the ultra-premium liquor brand "Tinghua" at the end of 2020.
Tinghua liquor was mired in controversy from the moment it was born. In its marketing, it claimed to be inspired by the cultural inspiration of "Taishang Laojun" and had Nobel laureates endorsing it. Its ultra-premium pricing drew attention from both inside and outside the industry.
In the adjustment cycle of the liquor industry, the iteration of consumer groups and changes in product structure and scenarios are driving the industry toward a transition between the old and the new. Tinghua continues to adopt a high-profile strategy, becoming an outlier outside the mainstream liquor market.
In the first three quarters of 2025, the company's liquor segment achieved operating revenue of 87.6754 million yuan, of which the top ten customers contributed sales (excluding tax) of 86.0286 million yuan.
For Tinghua liquor distributors, the company implements a policy of "payment before delivery." However, in its recent response to the regulatory inquiry, the company clarified that the distributors of the liquor business have not yet provided terminal sales data for this year. The confirmation of sales revenue with related customers is subject to audited data, and it cannot be ruled out that some business sales revenue may not be confirmed.
*ST Spring has a "precedent" in this regard. In 2024, the company's liquor sales revenue of 68.1078 million yuan was not recognized as income for that year due to reasons such as concentrated shipments and return risks.
Apart from the liquor business segment, the cordyceps sinensis raw material business still faces the risk of "bloating." This year, the company has continued to implement a credit sales strategy, extending the credit period to several months, resulting in low collection efficiency.
In the first nine months of 2025, the company collected 81.1617 million yuan from cordyceps sinensis raw material sales (including 56.0325 million yuan in receivables from last year and 25.1293 million yuan in sales this year), with a collection rate of only 24.1%. As of the end of September, the business still had a receivable balance of 67.8878 million yuan.
Only the third major business, proprietary Chinese medicine, is relatively stable, achieving revenue of 36.2638 million yuan in the first three quarters of this year.
For *ST Spring, the more pressing issue is the large amount of prepayments. As of the end of September this year, the prepayment balance to Yibin Tinghua Liquor Trade (supplier) was approximately 140 million yuan, and settlement has not yet been completed. Additionally, there is a 100 million yuan investment from subsidiary Henglang Investment in Yibin Tinghua (manufacturer).
In its response to the regulatory inquiry, the company stated that the prepayments to supplier Yibin Tinghua Liquor Trade can be recovered in the long term. On one hand, this is due to the adjustment of operations and product structure in 2020, which suspended related products such as Lianglu and Huolu, affecting prepayment settlement. On the other hand, after being reported by the media in March last year, the company proactively suspended product sales. Coupled with the sluggish liquor consumer market, the situation differed significantly from the original plan, affecting prepayment settlement.
The company stated that it aims to reduce the prepayment scale to around 100 million yuan by the end of this year and further reduce it to a range matching the procurement scale in the first half of 2026.
Additionally, according to the agreement, Yibin Tinghua will return the 100 million yuan prepaid investment amount to Henglang Investment by June next year.
As of September 30, 2025, the company's prepayment balance to Yibin Tinghua Liquor Trade was approximately 140 million yuan, and the prepaid investment balance was 100 million yuan. It cannot be ruled out that these amounts may not be recovered on time, leading to impairment risks.
Preparing for Rainy Days
At this critical juncture of survival, *ST Spring is also actively seeking changes.
On December 1, the company announced that it had passed a board resolution to amend parts of its business scope and articles of association.
Under "general items," it plans to refine "the comprehensive development, utilization, production, sales, and consulting services of natural advantageous resources on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau" into "primary processing and wholesale of edible agricultural products," "sales of metal ores," and "mineral washing and processing," among others.
Additionally, it has added primary processing and wholesale of edible agricultural products, as well as "investment activities with own funds" and other content.
At the same time, under "licensed items," it has clarified qualifications for the operation and collection of wild animals and plants, as well as drug production and commissioned production.
Changes in business scope and amendments to the articles of association are generally seen as preparations for a company to initiate or implement certain capital actions. From this perspective, *ST Spring's push for these adjustments may be paving the way for future expansion in certain fields or industries.
Currently, the company has two major business segments: health and liquor.
Cordyceps sinensis raw material sales have become the mainstay of the health segment after Jicao 5X powder tablets. In 2024, cordyceps sinensis raw material sales achieved operating revenue of approximately 152 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 289.78%, driving the company's revenue growth.
Combined with the proposed changes to the business scope, such as "primary processing and wholesale of edible agricultural products" and "operation of wild plants," it suggests that the company will expand further in the health business segment.
In addition, the inclusion of content related to mineral product sales and washing indicates the possibility of revitalizing assets by expanding resources and building a diversified ecological development. However, there is no mention of the liquor business segment, which is tasked with leading the company's transformation.
This round of adjustments in the liquor industry is not yet over. Changes in the liquor consumer market are prompting liquor companies to transform. Tinghua liquor, with its ultra-premium positioning, faces a difficult choice: whether to cater to the market or stick to its original aspirations, and whether to rely on business consumption scenarios or adapt to individual consumption.
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