Midea, Haier, Roborock Boost Buy-Backs Amid Market Crunch

As the home appliance market slows, China’s leading companies—Midea Group, Haier Smart Home, and Roborock—are stepping up share repurchase plans to demonstrate confidence in their future prospects. In the two months leading up to May 31, Midea purchased approximately CNY3.4 billion (around USD505.7 million) worth of A-shares. Recently, both Haier Smart Home and Roborock have increased their buy-back activities as well, according to their financial disclosures.

Midea announced late yesterday that it had repurchased around 43 million A-shares by the end of May. Meanwhile, Haier Smart Home retook over 49.4 million A-shares from March 27 to the end of May, and Roborock made its initial repurchase under the latest plan on June 2.

These buy-backs are taking place amidst a challenging environment for China’s home appliance sector, where growth is decelerating despite ongoing government initiatives. Notably, exports continue to outperform domestic sales.

Midea’s stock, trading on the Shenzhen Exchange, closed nearly unchanged at CNY82.61 (USD12.20) today. Haier’s shares declined 2% to CNY20.70, whereas Roborock’s stock fell 1.1% to CNY104.87 (USD15.50).

Midea Takes the Lead in Sector Buy-Back Initiatives

In late March, Midea’s board approved a plan to repurchase A-shares totaling between CNY6.5 billion to CNY13 billion (approximately USD960 million to USD1.9 billion) within a year. The purpose of the repurchases is to support employee incentive schemes and stock ownership plans, with a maximum purchase price of CNY100 per share. To date, the company has bought shares at prices ranging from CNY75.58 to CNY83.30 each.

Haier announced on June 1 that it had spent CNY1 billion to buy back more than 49.4 million A-shares—around 0.5% of its total share capital—to be allocated for employee stock programs and incentives. Similarly, Roborock reported that on June 2, it repurchased 113,700 shares via centralized bidding, representing about 0.04% of its total shares, at a cost of CNY12 million (roughly USD1.8 million).

Market Growth Faces Continued Challenges

Data released yesterday by market research firm ChinaIOL.Com highlights significant divergence within the appliance sector in April. Production and sales of household air conditioners declined compared to the previous year, while refrigerator output and sales reached record levels, and washing machines saw slight increases. Overall, exports outperformed domestic sales during this period.

Peng Yu, COO of Zitan Insight Data, explained that the growth of China’s home appliance market is under pressure this year. Companies are using buy-backs as a signal of confidence. Despite the ongoing government subsidy program, Peng noted that consumer preferences are becoming more segmented, making future growth more complex. He emphasized that innovation remains the key to overcoming current sales stagnation in China’s domestic appliance market.