20+ robot concept stocks released performance forecasts: the largest year-on-year increase in net profit may exceed 699.06%

Since late January 2023, listed companies in the robotics and intelligent manufacturing industry chain have successively released their 2022 performance forecasts.

As of now (February 6), Gaogong Robot has sorted out the 2022 performance forecasts of 21 listed companies related to the robot industry chain. In terms of net profit, 14 companies achieved year-on-year net profit growth, accounting for 63.6%, among which the largest year-on-year net profit increase was 699.06%-813.21%; 6 companies experienced varying degrees of year-on-year decline in net profit, with the largest decline of 316.20%-352.23%; 7 companies were in a loss state, with the highest loss amount reaching 828 million to 1.108 billion yuan.

Overall, the robotics and intelligent manufacturing sectors are improving in 2022. Driven by the demand for automation transformation in downstream industries, they are showing vigorous vitality and strong resilience, laying a solid foundation for a big leap forward in 2023.

New energy and new kinetic energy products drive

According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, in 2022, the national industrial production above designated size maintained a stable recovery trend, with added value increasing by 3.6% over the previous year. By industry, among the 41 major industrial sectors, 27 industries saw an increase in added value over the previous year, with a growth rate of 65.9%; the growth rate of 10 industries accelerated over the previous year.

The rapid growth of new energy and new kinetic energy products has also provided a long-term driving force for companies in the robot-related industrial chain. In 2022, the production of new energy products grew rapidly, with the output of new energy vehicles nearly doubling from the previous year, an increase of 97.5% ; the output of new energy products such as charging piles, photovoltaic batteries, and wind turbines increased by 80.3%, 47.8%, and 45.5%, respectively.

With the release of downstream industry demand, in 2022, the product orders and business of many robot industry chain companies will achieve different degrees of growth. For example, Huichuan Technology, Efort, Ruisong Technology, Haimxing, Wanxun Automation, Kerui Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology Intelligent, Tosda, etc.

The "hidden worries" behind the continued improvement

Behind the continued positive development of the robotics industry, there are also concerns about various factors, such as the epidemic, weak downstream consumer electronics, rising raw material prices, chip shortages, and rising transportation costs . These are words that appear in the performance reports of most listed companies in the robotics and intelligent manufacturing industry chain. This has also become a key factor that companies cannot ignore on the road to "increasing costs to ensure supply and delivery."

In the announcement , Efort pointed out that since the second half of 2021, the rising prices of bulk raw materials, the sharp rise in prices of electronic components due to chip shortages, and the increased costs of ensuring supply and delivery have led to an increase in the company's operating costs. In addition, competition in the domestic robotics business market has intensified and cost competition in the overseas integration business market has become increasingly fierce. The company's overall business gross profit margin has not yet improved significantly.

Keda Intelligence pointed out that the domestic epidemic situation is complex and changeable. In the first half of 2022, many places across the country implemented relatively strict control measures, especially in Shanghai, which was closed for a long time in the first half of the year, which had a major impact on the production and operation of related subsidiaries located in the Shanghai area; with the relaxation of control measures in the second half of 2022, the epidemic spread rapidly, and most of the company's employees were infected at the same time, which affected the company's normal production operations to a certain extent.

Harbin Institute of Technology Intelligent Technology pointed out that in the first half of 2022, due to the repeated outbreaks of the "new crown pneumonia" epidemic, the Russia-Ukraine war, and the global supply chain tensions and many other factors, the revenue recognition and carry-over progress of the company's subsidiaries, especially the high-end equipment manufacturing sector, was delayed, and the carry-over of some overseas projects was also greatly affected. The situation improved slightly in the second half of the year.

Zhongke Weizhi pointed out that during the reporting period, the company's revenue growth slowed down due to factors such as the spread of the epidemic in many places, lockdown measures and the downturn in the macro economy. The difficulty of entering the customer's site for acceptance increased due to epidemic control, and the revenue recognition cycle became longer. In order to adapt to changes in market competition, the company lowered the selling price of its products. The gross profit margin in 2022 was approximately 15%, a year-on-year decrease of 13 percentage points.

Lihexing pointed out that in 2022, the domestic and foreign economic situation is relatively complex and severe, and the demand in the downstream consumer electronics market is weak. According to the domestic mobile phone market operation analysis report released by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, from January to November 2022, the total shipments of mobile phones in the domestic market totaled 244 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 23.2%. Affected by this, the company's customers slowed down their investment in production lines, reduced capital expenditures, reduced their demand for the company's products, and the company's production capacity did not meet expectations. In addition, factors such as intensified industry competition and increased company investment also affected the company's performance, causing the company's performance to decline sharply.

Looking at the situation throughout 2022 , the development of the robotics industry is full of opportunities and challenges.

On January 17, 2023, the National Bureau of Statistics released China's population statistics for 2022. The data showed that at the end of 2022, the national population decreased by 850,000 year-on-year. China's demographic dividend is gradually disappearing, and industrial robots, as an important application of "machines replacing people", will play an increasingly important role in China's manufacturing industry.

In the future, as the population structure changes and labor costs continue to rise, more and more jobs will be replaced by robots, and domestic brands of industrial robots and core components will have a broader space for development.

In addition, on January 19, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and 17 other departments issued the "Robot+" Application Action Implementation Plan, which requires the development of new robot products such as welding, assembly, spraying, handling, grinding and polishing, and the acceleration of the application and expansion of robotized production equipment to related fields. This is bound to bring more potential opportunities to the entire robot industry chain.

With the continuous improvement of the operating performance of enterprises within the industry, the gradual disappearance of China's demographic dividend and the encouragement and promotion of national policies, it can be foreseen that the scale of China's industrial robot industry will further expand, especially the leading enterprises in the industry will usher in unlimited development opportunities.