By Yifan Wang

Meituan Dianping said its first-quarter net loss widened from a year earlier, as the coronavirus pandemic crippled both its revenue and profitability.

Net loss was 1.58 billion yuan ($221.6 million), compared with a loss of CNY1.43 billion in the same period last year, said the Chinese internet firm, known for its food-delivery business.

Revenue fell 13% to CNY16.75 billion, mainly dragged by the in-store, hotel and travel segment, whose sales slumped 31% during the quarter.

Operating margin weakened by 3.4 percentage points to negative 10.2%, Meituan Dianping added.

The company expects the negative impact of the public health crisis to persist through the rest of the year, as remaining pandemic-control measures curb offline consumption, while a number of its platform's merchants may have to shut down amid economic weakness. 



  Write to Yifan Wang at yifan.wang@wsj.com