“Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily”, March 30 (Reporter Wu Xuguang) For the first time since Western Superconductor, a leading company in the high-temperature titanium alloy industry, went public, saw a sharp decline in net profit.

On the evening of March 29, Western Superconductor released its 2023 annual report stating that during the reporting period, the company achieved operating revenue of 4.159 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 1.62%; realized net profit of 752 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 30.33%.

The “Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily” reporter noticed that this is also the first time since the company went public in July 2019 that net profit fell by more than 30%.

Regarding changes in net profit, Western Superconductor said that due to changes in the sales structure throughout 2023, the gross profit of the company's products declined, causing net profit and other operating indicators to decline compared to the same period.

In terms of profitability, the last three annual reports showed a downward trend in the company's gross margin. From 2021 to 2023, the company's gross margins were 40.83%, 39.45%, and 31.87%, respectively.

In the face of a decline in net profit, gross margin, etc. after deduction, Western Superconductor announced the company's 2023 profit distribution plan: it plans to distribute a cash dividend of 7 yuan (tax included) for every 10 shares to all shareholders. The total share capital of the company is 650 million shares. Based on this calculation, it plans to distribute a total of 455 million yuan (tax included), accounting for 60.44% of net profit.

In response, Western Superconductor said that the current profit distribution plan combines factors such as the company's development stage and future capital requirements, and will not have a significant impact on the company's operating cash flow.

Western Superconducting is mainly engaged in R&D, production and sales of high-end titanium alloy materials, superconducting products and high-performance superalloy materials. The company's products are mainly used in aerospace, ships, weapons, and MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) fields.

Looking at the specific main business by product, the company's share of product types sold changed quite a bit in 2023.

Among them, in 2023, the company's high-end titanium alloy materials achieved revenue of 2.05 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 21.96%, but it is still the company's largest source of revenue, accounting for 60.23% of total revenue. The product's gross margin was 34.41%, a year-on-year decrease of 8.88 percentage points.

Furthermore, the company's superconducting products and superalloy products have entered the release phase. In 2023, the company's superconducting products achieved revenue of 985 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 57.94%, and a product gross profit margin of 34.39%, an increase of 3.95 percentage points; high-performance superalloy materials achieved revenue of 474 million yuan, an increase of 161.79% over the previous year, and product gross margin was 15.86%, an increase of 12.57 percentage points.

In order to further meet the market's growing demand for superconducting products, etc., Western Superconductor raised 1,981 billion yuan in capital through fixed increases in January 2022, of which 971 million yuan is planned to build a “high-performance metal materials industrialization project for aerospace”. After delivery, 5050 tons of titanium alloy material production capacity and 1,500 tons of superalloy production capacity will be added; 101 million yuan plans to build a “high-performance superconducting wire industrialization project”. After delivery, 1,250 tons of superconducting wire production capacity for MRI will be added.

However, as of December 2023, Western Superconducting issued an extension notice for some fund-raising investment projects, stating that it plans to delay the expected delivery date of the fund-raising project “High Performance Superconducting Wire Industrialization Project” from December 31, 2023 to April 30, 2024.

Regarding the reason for the postponement of this fund-raising project, Western Superconductor explained that due to comprehensive considerations such as the procurement of a small number of equipment in the project, equipment inspection and commissioning, and factors such as the failure of some equipment to be upgraded and accepted, the construction of the company's fund-raising project was delayed.