① Zongheng Co., Ltd. stated that the company has the legal capacity to participate in government procurement activities and has not participated in the bidding in violation of regulations; ② the company's lawsuit against Hebei Xiong'an Yuandu Technology Co., Ltd. and Beijing Yuandu Internet Technology Co., Ltd. in an unfair competition dispute was accepted; ③ the company's net profit to mother changed from profit to loss in the first quarter of this year, but R&D expenses increased 27.54% year over year.
“Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily”, May 9 (Reporter Huang Xiumei) Zongheng Co., Ltd. issued a statement today (May 9) stating that the company has the legal capacity to participate in government procurement activities and win the bid, and has not participated in the bidding in violation of regulations. The company's lawsuit against Hebei Xiong'an Yuandu Technology Co., Ltd. and Beijing Yuandu Internet Technology Co., Ltd. in an unfair competition dispute was accepted.
Suing Yuandu Technology for unfair competition
Zongheng Co., Ltd. stated in a statement that the “Administrative Penalty Decision” made by the Kashgar Regional Finance Bureau has already been revoked in accordance with the law by the Kashgar Regional Finance Bureau's “Decision to Cancel Administrative Penalties” (Kadi Finance Bank Withdrawal [2023] No. 1).
In response to the “Statement” issued by Hebei Xiong'an Yuandu Technology Co., Ltd. and Beijing Yuandu Internet Technology Co., Ltd. Network, Zongheng Co., Ltd. stated that it “will obtain evidence in accordance with the law and protect the legitimate rights and interests of the company and related parties through legal action.”
At the same time, Zongheng Co., Ltd. issued the “Notice of Acceptance of the Case” by the Chengdu Intermediate People's Court of Sichuan Province. According to the “Notice”, the prosecution parties are Chengdu Zongheng Automation Technology Co., Ltd., and Chengdu Zongheng Dapeng Drone Technology Co., Ltd. (that is, a subsidiary of Zongheng Co., Ltd.). The defendants were Hebei Xiong'an Yuandu Technology Co., Ltd. and Beijing Yuandu Internet Technology Co., Ltd. The lawsuit was based on “improper competition”. The lawsuit was accepted on May 9, 2024.
Earlier, Yuandu Technology issued a statement on its official website on May 7 stating that Chengdu Zongheng Dapeng Drone Technology Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Zongheng Co., Ltd. has committed acts such as falsifying quality inspection reports, falsifying Yuandu Technology's official seal, and evading administrative penalties. The former will continue to investigate these acts and file criminal reports on the falsification of official seals. However, the statement refers to the falsification of Zongheng drones when participating in the 2022 Central Finance Forestry Reform and Development Fund Procurement Project of the Kashgar Regional Forestry Administration.
After the above statement was issued, the relevant person in charge of Zongheng Co., Ltd. told the “Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily” reporter, “Yuandu Technology's statement is a malicious slander and fabrication of false information. The company has obtained evidence of all false information in accordance with the law, and will defend its legitimate rights and interests according to law and regulations.”
Results for the first quarter of this year changed from profit to loss
In a statement issued today (May 9), Zongheng Co., Ltd. also mentioned that the company first released and mass-produced vertical take-off and landing fixed-wing drones at home and abroad in 2015, and continued to develop industry application scenarios. In total, it has continued to provide high-quality products, solutions and services to more than 1,500 domestic and foreign customers, and has been rated by German professional organizations (DroneII) as the top five in the global civil drone manufacturer industry for two consecutive years.
It is worth noting that according to the 2024 quarterly report of Zongheng Co., Ltd., the company's performance changed from profit to loss. In the first quarter of this year, Zongheng Co., Ltd. achieved revenue of 27.27 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 65.86%, and realized net profit of -29 million yuan, which changed from profit to loss over the same period. During the same period, Zongheng's total R&D expenses were 2007 million yuan, an increase of 27.54% over the previous year. R&D expenses accounted for 73.62% of revenue, an increase of 53.91 percentage points over the previous year.
Zongheng Co., Ltd. said in an investor survey on April 30 this year that the company's total R&D investment in 2023 was 72.66 million yuan, an increase of 84.27% over the previous year, mainly due to the company's increase in R&D investment in unattended systems, new multi-rotor drone systems, and heavy-duty drone systems.
Zongheng Co., Ltd. also mentioned that in 2024, the company will strengthen the optimization of vertical take-off and landing fixed-wing drones, especially the optimization and airworthiness certification of the Zongheng Dapeng CW-100 emergency communication and reconnaissance drone system.
In December 2023, Zongheng Co., Ltd. submitted an airworthiness certification application for the Zongheng Dapeng CW-100 drone system independently developed by the company to the Southwest Regional Administration of Civil Aviation of China. Currently, the Bureau has accepted the application and officially initiated the review process.
The “Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily” reporter learned that Zongheng Co., Ltd. has also set up a special airworthiness management department, which is responsible for establishing the company's internal design guarantee system, organizing and preparing the company's internal airworthiness management procedures, and coordinating the company's internal resources to promote airworthiness certification.