The company released the 2022 annual report and the first quarter report of 2023, and the performance exceeded expectations. In 2022, the company achieved revenue of 4.105 billion yuan, an increase of 106.89% over the previous year, and achieved net profit of 380 million yuan to the mother, an increase of 248.45% over the previous year. Among them, the power battery business revenue was 3.327 billion yuan, an increase of 199.13% over the previous year.
Benefiting from the increased capacity expansion of downstream power battery manufacturers, demand for power battery production equipment increased. As the stability and reliability of the company's products improved, the company's on-hand orders continued to grow. In 2022, the company signed new power battery business orders of about 6.8 billion yuan (tax included), an increase of 48% over the previous year. In Q1 2023, the company achieved revenue of 895 million yuan, an increase of 100.45% over the previous year, and achieved net profit of 32 million yuan to the mother, an increase of 184.17% over the previous year. The sharp increase in Q1 revenue was mainly due to the increase in orders and the increase in inspection projects.
Profitability has remained stable, and the company has increased investment in R&D to maintain competitiveness. The company's gross sales margin in 2022 was 30.50%, an increase of 6.58pct over the previous year, the gross profit margin for Q1 2023 was 30.83%, a year-on-year change of -2.78pct, and the net profit margin for Q1 2023 was 3.49%, a slight increase of 1.12pct over the previous year.
In terms of the cost rate for the period, the company's 2022 sales expense ratio, management expense ratio, and R&D expense ratio were 4.83%, 4.85%, and 10.05% respectively. Compared with the changes of -1.20pct, -0.39pct, and 2.09pct in the same period last year, the increase in R&D expense ratio was clearly mainly due to the company's increased investment in R&D, and the increase in R&D personnel remuneration and R&D materials. The company invests a large amount of R&D expenses, conducts forward-looking industry and product layout, and develops new products according to customer needs. In the long run, high R&D investment is conducive to maintaining the company's long-term competitiveness.
Entering the photovoltaic circuit to create a second growth pole, I am optimistic about the company's layout in new products. In the photovoltaic field, through years of laser application technology and the accumulation of laser and automation mass production capacity and technical strength in existing application fields, the company has laid a solid foundation for the company to develop laser and automation equipment that enhances the efficiency requirements of customers themselves. The company launched TopCon single-doping equipment in 2022. The first batch of such equipment was delivered during the year, and mass production of such equipment was achieved before the 2023 Spring Festival. Equipment orders in the first quarter of 2023 had already exceeded 400 million yuan, and the bid rate of project companies that had already opened bids exceeded 60%. In the field of new displays, the company's self-developed laser intelligent composite trimmer realizes a fully automatic repair process in the Mini/Micro LED process, and the Mini/Micro LED laser mass transfer equipment has achieved chip application requirements within 50 μm. From the Micro/Mini LED chip segment and display module segment to the display integration segment, the company will gradually open up the market with innovative high-quality solutions.
Investment suggestions: We expect the company to achieve revenue of 68888/8661/9989 billion yuan in 2023-2025, achieve net profit of 707/954/1,157 million yuan, corresponding PE to 13.1/9.7/8.0x, and maintain the “buy” rating.
Risk warning: industry sentiment declines, industry competition intensifies, new product promotion falls short of expectations.