Reporting its first interim loss since listing, can the Putian tycoon known for selling ham stage a comeback through 'chasing light'?
(This article was authored by Radar Finance and published by TMTPost with permission)
By Radar Finance | Author: Zhou Hui | Editor: Meng Shuai
After diversifying into 'chasing light,' Jinhua Ham, known as China's first listed ham company, reported its first interim net loss since going public.
In the first half of this year, Jinhua Ham generated revenue of RMB 154 million, down 9.26% year-over-year, and posted a parent-company net loss of RMB 8 million, swinging from profit to loss compared to the same period last year.
Among this, the company’s core ham business contributed RMB 74 million in revenue during the period, a sharp 26.35% year-over-year decline, which significantly weighed on overall performance.
Amid weakening core operations, Jinhua Ham has further intensified its push into the semiconductor sector. On July 28, the company announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Jinhua Semiconductor, plans to inject up to RMB 200 million of its own or raised funds into Zhongsheng Microelectronics in a second round of capital increase.
However, as of the end of the first quarter, Zhongsheng Microelectronics had not yet turned profitable. According to the announcement, the company reported revenue of RMB 6.5244 million in Q1 this year, with a net loss of RMB 7.385 million.
Additionally, in the first half of this year, Jinhua Ham recorded an investment loss of RMB 1.3057 million, primarily due to equity-method accounting for its investment loss in Zhongsheng Microelectronics during the reporting period.
Notably, Zheng Qingsheng, the Fujian Putian-born businessman who controls Jinhua Ham, has recently been frequently pledging and un-pledging his shares in the company, raising market concerns about his financial tightrope act.
As of July 24, Zheng Qingsheng had pledged a total of 96.87 million shares of the company, representing 66.81% of his holdings and 8% of the company’s total share capital.
According to information from Tianyancha, Jinhua Ham Co., Ltd. (referred to as 'Jinhua Ham') was established in 1994 and subsequently listed on the A-share market in December 2010.
According to Jinhua Ham's latest financial report disclosed on July 30, the company reported revenue of RMB 154 million in the first half of this year, down 9.26% year-over-year, and a net loss attributable to shareholders of RMB 8 million, swinging from profit to loss compared to the same period last year.
Notably, in the more than ten years since its listing, Jinhua Ham had consistently maintained a record of steady profitability in its interim reports until this most recent disclosure.
Regarding its first-ever interim loss since going public, Jinhua Ham stated that it was primarily due to multiple factors during the reporting period, including shifts in industry demand, fluctuations in raw material prices, and the comprehensive relocation of its new factory along with equipment commissioning.
By product segment, Jinhua Ham’s current revenue mainly comprises ham, ham products, specialty meat products, branded meat, cold-chain logistics services, and others.
Among these, weak performance in the ham and specialty meat products segments significantly weighed on Jinhua Ham’s interim financial results.
The financial report shows that in the first half of 2026, both production and sales volumes of Jinhua Ham’s ham and specialty meat products declined.
Specifically, ham—its core product—saw output drop to 480,200 kilograms in the first half of this year from 737,200 kilograms in the same period last year, a year-over-year decrease of 34.86%. Sales volume also fell by 25.72% year-over-year to 746,200 kilograms.
During the same period, production of specialty meat products totaled 469,000 kilograms, down 9.97% year-over-year, while sales reached 479,300 kilograms, a 24.3% decline compared to the prior-year period.
The decline in sales further impacted revenue from these product lines. Specifically, ham generated RMB 74 million in revenue in the first half of the year, a sharp 26.35% year-over-year drop, while specialty meat products contributed RMB 35 million in revenue, down 16.76% year-over-year.
In contrast, Jinhua Ham’s branded meat products performed notably well, with sales reaching 1.9743 million kilograms in the first half of the year, a sharp year-on-year increase of 279.81%; revenue rose to RMB 26 million, surging 155.88% year-on-year.
In response, Jinhua Ham stated that this was primarily due to the company’s continued expansion of its branded meat sales market during the reporting period and increased production and market deployment of branded meat products, leading to substantial growth in output and sales.
However, given that branded meat products accounted for only 16.88% of total revenue and carried a gross margin of just 4.04%—significantly lower than that of ham (32.1%) and specialty meat products (21.19%)—it is unlikely that this segment alone can significantly lift the company’s overall performance.
Moreover, rising expenses related to Jinhua Ham have also eroded the company’s profit margins to some extent.
According to financial statements, in the first half of this year, the company’s sales expenses amounted to RMB 19 million, up 18.09% year-on-year; R&D expenses totaled RMB 4 million, an 18.4% year-on-year increase; and administrative expenses surged by 152.45% to RMB 21 million, mainly due to depreciation from a new factory and higher employee compensation.
Amid a shift to losses in its interim earnings, Jinhua Ham has opted to further ramp up its investment in the semiconductor sector.
On July 28, Jinhua Ham issued an 'Announcement on Progress of External Investment by Wholly Owned Subsidiary,' stating that its wholly owned subsidiary, Jinhua Semiconductor, plans to enter into an investment agreement with Zhongsheng Microelectronics and all of Zhongsheng Microelectronics’ other shareholders.
Assuming Zhongsheng Microelectronics’ pre-money valuation for this funding round is no higher than RMB 1.85 billion and no lower than RMB 1.35 billion, Jinhua Semiconductor will subscribe to newly issued registered capital using its own funds or self-raised capital, up to RMB 200 million.
Following this investment round, Jinhua Semiconductor will hold up to 20% of Zhongsheng Microelectronics’ equity in aggregate.
According to previous announcements released by Jinzi Ham, Zhongsheng Micro was founded in 2019 by several core R&D personnel who returned to China from overseas optical communications chip design companies.
As a leading domestic enterprise in the field of high-speed optical communication electrical chips, Zhongsheng Micro has demonstrated significant first-mover advantages and technological barriers in single-wavelength 100G/200G and above TIA/Driver segments.
Jinzi Ham stated that in recent years, due to factors affecting the consumer goods market, the company's core business has grown slowly, resulting in a certain degree of decline in performance compared to previous periods, and this external investment represents an important attempt at diversification.
In Jinzi Ham’s view, this investment will enhance the company's risk resilience and overall competitiveness. Moreover, Zhongsheng Micro operates in an industry aligned with national industrial policy directions, offering better growth opportunities for the company's future business development.
However, Jinzi Ham also acknowledged that its management team has certain limitations in terms of technical expertise, experience, and managerial capabilities in the relevant industry, and given past unsuccessful external investments, this cross-sector move carries the risk of underperforming expectations.
Meanwhile, Zhongsheng Micro has not yet turned a profit, and its future profitability remains uncertain.
According to the announcement, in 2025, Zhongsheng Micro recorded total revenue of only RMB 2.4136 million but incurred a net loss as high as RMB 107 million; in the first quarter of this year, it generated revenue of RMB 6.5244 million but still reported a net loss of RMB 7.385 million for the quarter.
Furthermore, using December 31, 2025 as the valuation benchmark date, if calculated based on a pre-investment valuation of RMB 1.85 billion for the target company, the investment’s value appreciation rate would be 1,497.19%; if calculated based on a pre-investment valuation of RMB 1.35 billion, the appreciation rate would be 1,065.52%.
Therefore, Jinzi Ham’s transaction may carry the risk of overvaluation and potential future impairment losses on long-term equity investments.
In fact, Jinzi Ham’s cross-sector move into the optical communications sector has already had a certain negative impact on its profits.
According to the aforementioned interim report, Jinhao Ham recorded an investment loss of RMB 13.057 million in the first half of this year, primarily due to equity-method losses recognized from its investment in Zhongsheng Micro during the reporting period.
Radar Finance noted that recently, Jinhao Ham has repeatedly disclosed share pledge and unpledge activities by its controlling shareholder, Zheng Qingsheng.
On July 16, Jinhao Ham announced that it had recently received a notice from its controlling shareholder Zheng Qingsheng, informing the company that he had pledged 30.09 million shares of the company's stock to meet personal funding needs, representing 20.75% of his total holdings and 2.49% of the company’s total share capital.
The same announcement also disclosed that 42.46 million shares pledged by Zheng Qingsheng on July 16 of last year had matured and been released from pledge, accounting for 29.28% of his total holdings and 3.51% of the company’s total share capital.
On July 21, Jinhao Ham issued another announcement stating that Zheng Qingsheng had pledged an additional 15.91 million shares of the company’s stock, representing 10.97% of his holdings and 1.31% of the company’s total share capital, again citing personal funding needs. At the same time, 8.7 million shares held by him were released from pledge upon maturity.
Just one day later, Jinhao Ham issued yet another announcement disclosing that Zheng Qingsheng had pledged 23.31 million shares of the company’s stock due to personal funding needs. As of the date of that announcement, Zheng Qingsheng had cumulatively pledged 120 million shares, amounting to 82.46% of his total holdings and 9.88% of the company’s total share capital.
On July 24, Jinhao Ham disclosed for the fourth time that month details regarding Zheng Qingsheng’s share pledges or releases. The relevant announcement stated that Zheng Qingsheng had pledged a total of 27.56 million shares this time, representing 19.01% of his holdings, while 50.26 million shares held by him were released from pledge upon maturity.
As of the date of that announcement, Zheng Qingsheng had cumulatively pledged 96.87 million shares of the company, accounting for 66.81% of his total holdings and 8% of the company’s total share capital.
Meanwhile, Ren Guilong, acting in concert with Zheng Qingsheng, has cumulatively pledged 41.48 million shares of the company. Together, their pledged shares represent 11.43% of Jinhao Ham’s total share capital.
Public records show that Zheng Qingsheng was born in 1956. As an entrepreneur from Xianyou, Putian, Fujian Province, Zheng has been active across multiple sectors, including real estate, automobiles, and education.
In June 2025, Zheng Qingsheng invested nearly RMB 900 million to acquire control of Jinzi Ham from Ren Guilong and swiftly pushed the company into the semiconductor industry.
Although Jinzi Ham’s aforementioned announcements consistently emphasized that the actual controller and his concerted parties sourced repayment funds from a variety of channels—including proprietary capital, investment dividends, and other income—and maintained sound creditworthiness and adequate debt-servicing capacity, the market remains concerned about their frequent share pledging and unpledging activities, viewing them as walking a tightrope.
Radar Finance will continue to monitor the future developments of Golden Ham.
Risk Disclaimer: The above content only represents the author's view. It does not represent any position or investment advice of Futu. Futu makes no representation or warranty.Read more
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