In the three months ended in December, Luckin Coffee’s profit margin dropped 10.3% compared to the previous quarter due to low-price competition with rival Cotti Coffee having no sign of abating. The Chinese chain recorded a 3.9% profit margin, also a 7.6% decrease from a year earlier, which the company’s investor relations head Guo Jinyi attributed to seasonal factors and that decline aligns with “the objective industry trends” in the earnings call. Meanwhile, its revenue nearly doubled to RMB 7.06 billion during the period and surpassed Starbucks by $260 million, marking the third straight quarter that Luckin outpaced its once-biggest rival. [TechNode reporting]