Incident: The company released its financial report for the first quarter of 2024. The 24Q1 quarter achieved total revenue of 1,738 billion yuan, an increase of 20.25% over the previous year, and net profit attributable to the parent company of 145 million yuan, an increase of 57.39% over the previous year. After deducting net profit of 119 million yuan, an increase of 76.05% over the previous year.

Improve management efficiency and promote increased profitability. The company's revenue maintained relatively steady growth in the first quarter, while the profit side growth rate exceeded the revenue growth rate. The net profit margin increased by 1.65 pct compared to the same period last year, increasing profitability. One important factor is the improvement in management efficiency. Sales, management, and R&D rates in the first quarter decreased by 0.7 pct, 1.4 pct, and 1 pct, respectively. Furthermore, the increase in the company's interest income in the first quarter led to a significant year-on-year reduction in financial expenses, which also contributed to the increase in the company's apparent net profit.

The “AI+robot” strategy is being implemented at an accelerated pace. According to information disclosed on CCC's WeChat account on February 28, the company received a large order for the AMR intelligent robot project from Saudi Aramco Central Warehouse, and the robotics business maintained a high starting point. At the same time, the company continues to accelerate the layout of the “AI+ robot” industry, form a strategic cooperation with Hangzhou Jiazhi Technology, and jointly promote the construction of an overall solution service platform for the process industry. We believe that, with the company's rich industry expertise in the process industry and deep understanding of different application scenarios, the future of central control is expected to develop competitive robot solutions that meet the needs of multi-scenario industrial applications, and thereby drive the company's further growth.

Overseas business continues to expand, and the market development prospects are broad. The company focuses on the world and builds an integrated layout in Eurasia, the Middle East and other regions. In 2023, a major breakthrough was achieved in overseas markets, and new overseas contracts of nearly 1 billion yuan were signed. As a domestic industrial automation leader, the company has strong international competitiveness and is highly recognized by customers. In the future, it will continue to deepen its global business layout and lead domestic technology overseas.

Investment advice: We expect the company's revenue for 2024-2026 to be 105.32, 126.45 billion yuan, and 14.877 billion yuan, respectively, and net profit to mother of 1,03 billion yuan, 15.47 billion yuan, and 1,751 billion yuan respectively. The company is a leader in the domestic industrial automation industry and maintains the company's “buy” rating.

Risk warning: downstream demand falls short of expectations; R&D progress falls short of expectations; overseas market operations fall short of expectations.