Exposing five "Apple supply chain" machine vision suppliers

The annual Apple autumn conference officially kicked off in the early morning of September 8, 2022. At this new product launch conference, the Apple iPhone 14 series products with new designs such as "pill screen" and "smart island" firmly stood in the "C position".

According to Gaogong Robotics, a week after Apple's fall conference, that is, on September 16, Apple's iPhone 14 series of mobile phones were officially released. Long queues and crowds of people, the familiar scene in front of Apple stores is back.

The launch of new products often triggers a new round of phone replacement craze.

In fact, affected by the epidemic and the global economy, sales of 3C electronics, including mobile phones, have generally been unsatisfactory this year.

According to CINNO Research, domestic smartphone sales fell 17.7% year-on-year in July, with sales falling to 22.1 million units. IDC also recently pointed out in a report that global smartphone shipments are expected to fall 6.5% in 2022.

In the industry, there has always been a saying that smartphone sales have "good years and bad years", and 2022, with mediocre sales, is also regarded as a "bad year" by everyone.

So, will the launch of Apple’s iPhone 14 series products once again drive an increase in mobile phone sales in the second half of this year, and even the prosperity of the entire Apple industrial chain?

To this end, Gaogong Robot extracted semi-annual report data from five listed machine vision companies among many "Apple chain" suppliers, hoping to explore more business needs of the 3C industry.

1. Lingyunguang: revenue in the first half of the year was 1.289 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 13.40%

Since 2016, Lingyun Optoelectronics has become Apple's machine vision supplier, providing it with configurable vision systems in batches. As a member of the "Apple supply chain", Lingyun Optoelectronics officially landed on the Science and Technology Innovation Board on July 6 this year, with a current total market value of 11.93 billion yuan.

As the first report card after listing, Lingyunguang pointed out in its 2022 semi-annual performance announcement that its revenue in the first half of the year was 1.289 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 13.40%, and its net profit attributable to shareholders was 0.79 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 28.46%.

Although Lingyunguang's sales orders, especially production deliveries, have been affected to a certain extent by the COVID-19 pandemic and the international "chip shortage", resulting in a narrowing of revenue growth, its revenue in the 3C consumer electronics and new energy fields has maintained steady growth.

It is understood that in the first half of this year, Lingyunguang's 3C consumer electronics business revenue was 289 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 42.76%, and new energy business revenue was 48 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 108.16%.

At present, Lingyun Optoelectronics has formed four basic technology platforms in terms of advanced optical imaging, intelligent software, intelligent algorithms, precision machinery and automatic control, which can support the rapid implementation of products. In the 3C field, Lingyun Optoelectronics has not only become a supplier for Apple, but has also successfully entered the supply chains of Xiaomi and Huawei.

In the field of new energy, Lingyunguang has formed close cooperation with Fuyao Group, CATL and Xinyi Group.

2. Huaxing Yuanchuang: Revenue in the first half of the year was 1.102 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 30.35%

As a provider of industrial automation testing equipment and complete line system solutions, Huaxing Yuanchuang successfully entered Apple's supplier system as early as 2013, and supplied it with testing and assembly equipment for wearable electronic products.

So far, Huaxing Yuanchuang's testing solutions have been used to test Apple's mobile phones, tablets, watches, headphones and other products, and have covered the testing of complete machines, systems, modules and SIP system-level chips at the testing process nodes.

It is understood that in addition to being a supplier of the "Apple supply chain", Huaxing Yuanchuang has also reached in-depth cooperative relations with well-known domestic and foreign companies such as Samsung, Sony, LG, Sharp (Foxconn), BOE, JDI, Jingfang Technology, Luxshare Precision, Goertek, Foxconn, and Will Semiconductor.

In addition, Huaxing Yuanchuang's products are also widely used in LCD and OLED flat panel displays and micro displays, semiconductor integrated circuits, consumer electronics wearable devices, new energy vehicles and other industries.

According to the 2022 semi-annual report data, as of June 30, Huaxing Yuanchuang's revenue in the first half of the year was 1.102 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 30.35%, and its net profit attributable to shareholders was 171 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 21.69%.

3. Optech: Revenue in the first half of the year was 601 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 53.29%

Founded in 2006, Optech is one of the earliest companies in China to enter the field of machine vision. In terms of products, Optech's independent product line currently covers core machine vision software and hardware products such as light sources, light source controllers, lenses, industrial cameras, and vision systems. It has also deployed industrial code readers, 3D laser sensors, and deep learning products, and established two major technology platforms: imaging and visual analysis.

As one of the "Apple supply chain" companies, Opt currently covers all of Apple's other product lines in addition to being used in the field of assembling Apple mobile phones. Regarding the release of Apple's new products, Opt also made it clear in a public interview recently that the update of the production line must be accompanied by the update of visual products, and Apple's current visual inspection coverage has reached a relatively high level, with not only a large production demand but also high quality requirements.

For many years, Optech has always focused on 3C. In recent years, with the rise of new energy, it has gradually developed into a roadmap with 3C and new energy as two main lines of development.

According to the semi-annual report, in the first half of 2022, Optech's revenue was 601 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 53.29%, and its net profit attributable to the parent company was 195 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 36.46%. Among them, the 3C electronics industry is continuing to grow steadily, and 3C electronics revenue increased by 38.00% year-on-year.

4. Tianjue Technology: Revenue in the first half of the year was 465 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 25.09%

Tianjue Technology, which specializes in machine vision, was officially listed on the Science and Technology Innovation Board as early as 2019, and its current market value has reached 6.867 billion yuan. In the pre-IPO stage in 2017 and 2018, Apple has always been the company's top customer. Apple's sales revenue once accounted for 29.46% and 28.51% of the company's operating income during the period.

It is understood that in the 3C field, Tianjue Technology has always focused on dimensional measurement equipment for Apple's industrial chain. In a recent interview, Tianjue Technology said that it has confirmed a part of the defect detection orders, and the current order amount from Apple has exceeded 2021.

According to the semi-annual report data, Tianjue Technology's revenue in the first half of the year was 465 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 25.09%, and its net profit attributable to shareholders was 3 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 41.45%.

5. Silinjie: Revenue in the first half of the year was 169 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 44.66%

In 2017, Silinx was successfully selected as a supplier of modular instrument testing solutions for Apple Inc., and officially landed on the domestic Science and Technology Innovation Board in March this year.

It is understood that at present, Silinger's products have basically covered all types of Apple's consumer electronic products, and the products are mainly used in the PCBA functional testing of consumer electronic products mainly in the Apple industry chain.

According to the semi-annual report data, in the first half of 2022, Silinge's revenue was 169 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 44.66%, and its net profit attributable to shareholders was 52 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 38.13%.