BEIJING, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) - Haidilao, a leading hot pot restaurant chain in China, posted a significant drop in net profit for the first half of the year, largely due to the COVID-19 epidemic that led to a decline in customer flow.

(File photo: agencies)

The company reported a loss of 965 million yuan (about 140.1 million U.S. dollars) in net profit, down over 200 percent year on year from January to June, according to its financial report.

The company's business revenue plummeted 16.5 percent year on year to 9.76 billion yuan during the same period.

Despite the slump in dine-in services, the company's revenue from takeaway food business rose 124 percent year on year in H1, accounting for 4.2 percent of the total revenue, according to the report.