SF Holding revenue hits RMB 155.5B as international arm accelerates

SF Holding reported first-half 2026 revenue of RMB 155.5 billion, with its supply chain and international business emerging as the main growth driver behind what the company frames as a second-growth-curve strategy.

The Shenzhen-headquartered logistics group saw revenue from the supply chain and international segment rise 15.6% year-on-year. Stripping out the KLN business it acquired in 2021, core revenue in that segment jumped 46.6%. International supply chain revenue excluding KLN surged 155%, while international express and cross-border e-commerce logistics revenue rose 60%.

The company operates a fleet of 111 cargo aircraft, Asia's largest all-cargo fleet, alongside 213 weekly cross-border flights and over 2.2 million square meters of overseas warehouse space across the Asia-Pacific region. It holds customs clearance networks spanning 100 ports worldwide and recently secured Authorized Economic Operator certification in South Korea.

SF's domestic time-definite express revenue grew 5.3% year-on-year, which the company said outpaced GDP growth. The segment benefitted from service at roughly 780 concerts and more than 2,000 exhibitions during the period. Economy express revenue rose from higher unit pricing, up 6%, as SF focused on the mid-to-high-end segment. Volumes of industrial bulky items over 100 kilograms expanded more than 20%.

Operating leverage improved in part from automation. The company has deployed roughly 15,000 AI agents across customer engagement, network planning, and fulfillment processes. It runs nine fully automated lights-out warehouses and has added automated case-handling robots and guided vehicles in sorting centers. Autopilot trucks handle line-haul transportation. SF said sorting efficiency improved 7.4% year-on-year and per-capita daily working hours fell by 1.5 hours.

Shareholder returns

SF raised its 2026 interim dividend payout ratio to 45%, up from the 40% payout ratio for the full 2025 year. It also proposed amending its Five-Year Shareholder Return Plan covering 2024 through 2028. Under the amended plan, which requires shareholder approval, the target payout ratio would be 45% for 2026, 50% for 2027, and no less than 50% for 2028.

The company completed roughly RMB 4.37 billion in A-share and H-share buybacks during the first half, after doubling the cap on its A-share repurchase program to RMB 6.0 billion and launching a new HKD 500 million H-share program. Combined with the proposed interim cash dividend of RMB 2.50 billion, total distributions reached around RMB 6.87 billion, equivalent to 125% of first-half net profit attributable to owners.

SF Holding's MSCI ESG rating was upgraded to AA. The stock trades on both the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (002352.SZ) and the Hong Kong Exchange (06936.HK). Its MSCI stock page shows an Alpha Score of 46, labelled Mixed.

Alex Ho, the company's executive director and CFO, said in a statement that SF remains focused on "sustainable and healthy development, prioritizing customer value above all." The company ranks No. 372 on the 2026 Fortune Global 500 list.