The performance of the five leading companies in the first quarter is uncertain, and the industrial robot industry is moving forward in a volatile manner

Recently, listed industrial robot companies have released their first quarter financial reports one after another. It can be seen that most companies have increased their operating income, which shows that the demand for industrial robots in downstream industries is continuing to grow. However, in terms of net profit, several major companies have experienced varying degrees of decline, and industry competition is still fierce.

Estun's first quarter report of 2023 shows that during the reporting period, the company achieved total operating revenue of 986 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 22.53%, and net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company of 43.0455 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 28.34%, and non-net profit of 32.1005 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 30.57%. Overall, revenue continued to grow, but profits did not improve.

According to the first quarter report of 2023 of Huichuan Technology, its industrial robot business continued to grow rapidly, with revenue of 136 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 29.06%. The shipment volume of industrial robots reached 4,300 units, a year-on-year increase of 31.90%, mainly benefiting from the demand driven by industries such as lithium batteries and photovoltaics.

According to the first quarter report of 2023 of Xinshida, the total operating revenue during the reporting period was 911 million yuan, an increase of 11.43% year-on-year, and the net profit attributable to the parent was 130 million yuan, an increase of 751.69% year-on-year, turning losses into profits. The non-net profit was 3.8021 million yuan, a year-on-year narrowing of 85.60%. Both revenue and net profit increased significantly.

According to Efort's first quarter report of 2023, the total operating revenue during the reporting period was 390 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 37.08%. The net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company was a loss of 40.573 million yuan, and the non-net profit was a loss of 48.3307 million yuan. Although the revenue increased, the profit still failed to improve.

According to Tosda's first quarter report of 2023, the total operating revenue during the reporting period was 799 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 13.98%, and the net profit attributable to the parent was 12.0501 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 77.62%, and the non-net profit was 9.4568 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 81.37%. Both revenue and profit decreased, and the operating conditions in the first quarter failed to improve.

Industrial robots will continue to move forward in 2023

According to the data from the National Bureau of Statistics, my country's industrial robot output in the first quarter of 2023 was 103,691 sets, a year-on-year decrease of 3%. Among them, the output of industrial robots in March was 43,883 sets, a year-on-year decrease of 5.7%; the output of industrial robots in January-February was 62,036 sets, a year-on-year decrease of 19.2% from 76,381 sets last year.

It can be seen that my country's overall industrial robot output declined in the first quarter of 2023. However, the year-on-year decline in January and February was large. In March, the decline began to decline and the trend reversed. Overall, my country's industrial robot industry will gradually recover and fluctuate in 2023.

At present, my country's industrial robot industry can be said to have entered a new era. The stage of market growth explosion has passed, and it has entered a new cycle of competing for the existing market and occupying a position in the segmented incremental market. The demand side has become the main contradiction in the industrial chain, and "where does the demand come from" has become the primary issue that companies have to consider.

From the demand side, the growth of industrial robots in 2023 will still mainly benefit from the demand from new energy vehicles, photovoltaics, lithium batteries, semiconductors, medical care , warehousing and logistics industries. However, the demand in downstream industries is gradually differentiating, and some sub-sectors also contain considerable opportunities. For example, in addition to power batteries, energy storage batteries may become a high-growth track this year, and related companies need to consider carefully.

Now that the demographic dividend is fading, labor costs continue to rise, and the process of "replacing people with machines" is gradually accelerating, coupled with the favorable policies such as the "14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of the Robot Industry" and the "Robot+" Application Action Implementation Plan, overall, the development of the industrial robot industry remains good, and the market is expected to grow at a year-on-year rate of between 10% and 15% in 2023.

In general, although my country's industrial robot market will experience short-term fluctuations, the positive trend in the medium and long term has not changed. Industrial robots are still automation products in the "growth" stage and are expected to continue to maintain a double-digit growth rate in the next few years.