Aier Eye Hospital's board of directors has reviewed and approved the proposal to issue H shares and list on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. This listing still requires approval from the shareholders' meeting and domestic and foreign regulatory agencies, with the resolution valid for 24 months after approval by the shareholders' meeting.
Key Points:
<ul>
<li>After experiencing an 8.88% year-on-year decline in profit in 2025, Aier Eye Hospital's net profit attributable to the parent company rebounded to 1.181 billion yuan in the first quarter of this year, a year-on-year increase of 12.46%.</li>
<li>Overseas business has become a new highlight for the company, with Aier Eye Hospital's overseas revenue reaching 3.057 billion yuan in 2025, a year-on-year increase of 16.47%, accounting for 13.68% of total revenue.</li>
</ul>
Molly
With rising customer acquisition costs and intensified price competition, private chain hospitals that once relied on high growth to support high valuations are now facing stricter scrutiny from the capital markets. For Aier Eye Hospital Group Co., Ltd. (300015.SZ), the slowdown in domestic business growth and the fading valuation halo of A shares mean the company needs a new highlight to regain favor in the capital markets, and &#34;internationalization&#34; is undoubtedly the easiest story to be repriced at the moment.
On April 23, Aier Eye Hospital's board of directors approved the proposal to issue H shares and list on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The day after the announcement, the company's A share price rose by 5.57%, bringing its market value back to 100 billion yuan. About a month ago, foreign media had disclosed the company's plans to list in Hong Kong.
Regarding this listing in Hong Kong, Aier Eye Hospital's management stated that the move aims to broaden international capital financing channels and further serve the company's globalization development strategy. For Aier Eye Hospital, which has relatively abundant cash flow, the shift in attitude towards listing in Hong Kong seems quite sudden. Just last May at the shareholders' meeting, the company's chairman Chen Bang had stated that Aier Eye Hospital had no plans for an H share listing, citing the company's strong fundraising capabilities and the lack of suitable overseas acquisition targets in the short term. Now, the company has restarted its Hong Kong listing arrangements, clearly not just to supplement financing channels, but more like proactively seeking new narratives for the capital market under valuation pressure.
Over the past decade, Aier Eye Hospital has grown into a leader in China's private ophthalmology medical service industry through a model of &#34;graded chain + merger and acquisition expansion.&#34; By the end of 2025, Aier Eye Hospital had 391 hospitals and 272 outpatient departments in China, along with 179 ophthalmology centers and clinics overseas; the annual outpatient volume reached 18.8917 million visits, a year-on-year increase of 11.52%, and the number of surgeries reached 1.68 million, a year-on-year increase of 5.77%.
The vast treatment network combined with rapid growth in earlier years led Aier Eye Hospital to be referred to as the &#34;Ophthalmology Moutai&#34; in the capital market. From 2009 to 2017, the company's net profit attributable to the parent company increased from approximately 92 million yuan to 743 million yuan, growing more than sevenfold over eight years, with an annualized compound growth rate of about 30%; high growth supported the stock price's upward trajectory, peaking at 42.49 yuan in July 2021, with a market value approaching 400 billion yuan and a price-to-earnings ratio exceeding 100 times
However, in recent years, Aier's performance growth has clearly slowed down. In 2025, the company achieved operating revenue of 22.353 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6.53%; the net profit attributable to the parent company was 3.24 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 8.88%. This decline was mainly due to the impact of non-recurring items such as goodwill impairment. Excluding these effects, the adjusted net profit was 3.141 billion yuan, a slight year-on-year increase of 1.36%, indicating that its operations remain stable. Entering the new fiscal year, Aier's performance shows signs of recovery. In the first quarter of 2026, the company achieved revenue of 6.396 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6.15%; net profit was 1.181 billion yuan, with the year-on-year growth rate rebounding to 12.46%.
<h4>Overseas Expansion Period</h4>
Although the core business still has growth, Aier's profitability has been affected by industry competition, price pressure, and rising costs. In 2025, the gross profit margin of the company's domestic business was 47.26%, a year-on-year decrease of 1.22 percentage points; in contrast, the gross profit margin of the overseas business was 46.17%, a year-on-year increase of 0.58 percentage points, indicating that while the overseas segment is expanding revenue, its profitability has also improved.
As of the end of 2025, the company has established 179 ophthalmology centers and clinics overseas, covering regions such as Hong Kong, Europe, the United States, and Southeast Asia. In 2025, the company's overseas revenue was 3.057 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 16.47%, accounting for 13.68% of total revenue, up from 12.51% in 2024. However, medical services differ from standardized consumer goods; deepening the overseas market depends not only on capital investment but also on a series of factors such as doctor resources, local regulations, medical insurance payments, and operational efficiency.
With the overall valuation contraction of A-shares, Aier's own growth slowing down, along with negative factors such as controversies in medical services, by April 2026, Aier's stock price had fallen about 70% from its historical high. Choosing to list in Hong Kong at this time may also be a double-edged sword for Aier. On one hand, listing H-shares can help Aier enhance its overseas business financing capabilities and may also increase the company's flexibility in international mergers and acquisitions, doctor resource cooperation, and brand building. On the other hand, the valuations of medical service companies in Hong Kong are usually lower than those of their A-share counterparts. If Aier's H-shares are issued at a significant discount compared to A-shares, the market may reassess its A-share valuation premium.
Taking Hema Medical (3309.HK) as an example, this Hong Kong-listed ophthalmology chain currently has a price-to-earnings ratio of about 15 times, while Aier's A-share price-to-earnings ratio is about 30 times. Although Aier's revenue and profit scale are more than ten times that of Hema Medical, providing a stronger basis for leading premium, its H-shares would still need to prove that the overseas business can not only grow revenue faster but also continuously contribute profits, cash flow, and globalization premium

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Aier's board of directors has approved the relevant proposal for listing in Hong Kong, which requires approval from the shareholders' meeting and regulatory authorities. The company's profit is expected to decline by 8.88% in 2025, but the net profit in the first quarter of 2023 rebounded to 1.181 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 12.46%. Overseas business has become a new highlight, with expected overseas revenue reaching 3.057 billion yuan in 2025, accounting for 13.68% of total revenue. This listing aims to broaden international financing channels, and management stated that this move is to address valuation pressure and seek new narratives in the capital market

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