Happy Family Faces "Joy": The Actual Controller Reduced Holdings Three Times in Nine Months, Net Profit Declines for Two Consecutive Years

Less than five years after going public, Happy Family (300997.SZ) has fallen into a dual dilemma of concentrated cash-outs by its actual controller and a sharp decline in performance.

On the evening of March 4, one of Happy Family’s actual controllers and chairman, Li Xing, disclosed the pricing details of his third inquiry-based share transfer within nine months. He plans to sell approximately 10.94 million shares at 17.34 yuan per share, a price more than 10% lower than the previous inquiry transfer.

Li Xing and others have cashed out about 360 million yuan in total from two previous reductions, citing “personal funding needs” as the reason. This explanation seems especially credible given the rising pledge ratios of the family’s shares—by March 2026, the pledged shares of Li Xing and the family of controlling shareholders, including the company’s actual controllers, exceeded 67% of their holdings.

Behind the frequent reductions by the actual controller is the “performance fatigue” that has emerged less than five years after Happy Family’s listing: in 2024, the company’s revenue and net profit both declined year-on-year; the 2025 earnings forecast shows net profit attributable to shareholders of 35 to 50 million yuan, down 66.07% to 76.25%.

The actual controller has reduced holdings three times in nine months, with family pledge ratios rising year after year

On the evening of March 4, Happy Family issued a tentative announcement regarding the pricing of the shareholder inquiry transfer. The announcement shows that the initial transfer price for Li Xing’s inquiry transfer is 17.34 yuan per share.

Twenty institutional investors participated in the bidding, including fund management companies, qualified offshore institutional investors, securities firms, and private equity fund managers. The total effective subscription was 13.84 million shares, with an effective subscription multiple of 1.27 times. The preliminary transferees are 17 institutional investors, proposing to acquire a total of 10,936,836 shares.

On the evening of March 10, Happy Family announced that the transfer had been completed, with a transaction amount of approximately 189.64 million yuan. As a result, Li Xing and his concerted parties’ shareholding in the company decreased to 69.20%.

Public information shows that Li Xing is not only a shareholder but also one of the actual controllers of Happy Family, currently serving as chairman.

Our review found that this is already Li Xing’s third share reduction via inquiry transfer within nine months.

On July 18, 2025, Li Xing reduced 13.12 million shares through inquiry transfer at 13.55 yuan per share, totaling about 177.83 million yuan. After this transaction, Li Xing and his concerted parties’ shareholding dropped from 76.84% to 73.84%, crossing a 5% threshold.

On December 30, 2025, the controlling shareholder Hao Xing Investment and the actual controllers Li Xing and Zhu Wenzhan (collectively: the transferors) reduced 9.376 million shares via inquiry transfer at 19.43 yuan per share, totaling about 182.18 million yuan. After this transfer, their combined shareholding decreased from 73.84% to 71.70%.

The reporter notes that the reasons given for Li Xing’s three reductions within nine months have all been “personal funding needs.”

Meanwhile, the high pledge ratio of the Happy Family controlling family has attracted market attention.

The company’s controlling shareholder is Guangdong Hao Xing Investment Co., Ltd. (Hao Xing Investment), with Li Xing as legal representative. The actual controllers are Li Xing, Zhu Wenzhan, Li Kangrong, and Li Zihao. Li Xing and Zhu Wenzhan are spouses; Li Xing and Li Kangrong are brothers; Li Zihao is the son of Li Xing and Zhu Wenzhan.

As of May 16, 2025, the pledge situation of the family’s shares is as follows:

According to the announcement, as of May 16, 2025, the pledge ratios of Hao Xing Investment, Li Xing, and Zhu Wenzhan all exceeded 50%. Additionally, Li Kangrong’s pledge ratio also surpassed 30%, with the total pledge ratio of the four reaching 58.09%.

At that time, Happy Family stated: “The controlling shareholder Hao Xing Investment and its concerted parties are in good financial condition and have the capacity to repay the pledged shares, with repayment sources including self-raised or self-owned funds.”

By December 22, 2025, the combined pledge ratio of these four had risen to 67.65%. The latest data as of February 11, 2026, shows that Hao Xing Investment, Li Xing, Zhu Wenzhan, and Li Kangrong collectively pledged 69.50% of their holdings.

As of February 11, 2026, the total number of pledged shares due within one year for Hao Xing Investment and its concerted parties was 81.73 million shares, accounting for 26.06% of their holdings and 18.68% of the total share capital of Happy Family, with a financing balance of 541.7 million yuan. Among these, the pledged shares due within the next six months totaled 39.10 million shares, representing 12.47% of their holdings and 8.94% of the total share capital, with a financing balance of 250 million yuan.

As of March 9, 2026, the pledge ratio of Hao Xing Investment, Li Xing, Zhu Wenzhan, and Li Kangrong combined was 67.01%.

Less than five years listed, Happy Family’s non-recurring net profit in the past year declined over 68%

The pace of reductions accelerated, pledge ratios of the controlling family increased, and financial pressure became evident. Meanwhile, Happy Family’s recent performance has been less “happy.”

Founded in 2001, Happy Family initially relied on regional resources to produce and operate canned fruits, seafood, and quail eggs. In 2014, the company entered the plant-based beverage market, launching the “Happy Family Fresh-Pressed Series,” among which coconut juice quickly became a pillar product after its launch, leveraging existing fruit canning sales channels.

From 2018 to 2020, the sales revenue of coconut juice was approximately 581 million, 617 million, and 571 million yuan, respectively, surpassing fruit juice drinks, probiotic drinks, orange cans, and yellow peach cans. In June 2021, Happy Family was listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange’s ChiNext board. In its first year, the coconut juice segment generated about 791 million yuan in revenue, accounting for 53.70% of total revenue. From 2022 to 2024, this proportion remained above 50%.

Beike Finance’s reporter notes that coconut juice has supported the company’s performance for many years, with relatively high gross margins. From 2021 to 2024, the gross profit margins of coconut juice were 43.19%, 42.22%, 45.69%, and 40.18%, respectively. In contrast, in 2024, the gross margin of fruit cans was only 28.90%, down 1.62% year-on-year.

Also in 2024, Happy Family’s performance showed signs of “fatigue.” That year, the company achieved revenue of about 1.855 billion yuan, down 3.53% year-on-year; net profit attributable to shareholders was about 147 million yuan, down 47.06%; and net profit excluding non-recurring gains and losses was about 145 million yuan, down 46.67%.

In 2025, the company’s performance faced further pressure. The earnings forecast shows that in 2025, net profit attributable to shareholders is expected to be between 35 and 50 million yuan, down 66.07% to 76.25% year-on-year; net profit excluding non-recurring gains and losses is expected to be between 30 and 45 million yuan, down 68.92% to 79.28%.

“In 2025, under the pressure of the consumption environment and fierce industry competition, sales revenue from the main distribution channels declined to some extent,” Happy Family stated.

To cope with this, the company has gradually expanded into snack specialty chain channels and raw material processing (coconut pulp) sales, achieving some progress and initial results. However, these channels and businesses generally have lower gross margins and have not yet achieved scale effects. Additionally, rising raw material costs for key products have impacted the company’s net profit for 2025.

Beijing News Shell Finance reporter Yan Xia, editor Chen Li, proofreader Liu Baoqing