① The company has been certified by the Singaporean "3D NAND manufacturer" through the acquisition of overseas companies to empower its multiple products. Against the background of the slowing growth of the consumer electronics industry in 2023 and the decline in semiconductor sales; ② Last year, semiconductor and display-specific gas company SOLE MATERIALS CO., LTD and new energy power generation company JA Solar Technology Co., Ltd. became the company's top five new customers.
"Star Daily" June 3rd news (Reporter Wu Xuguang) "Photoresist gas is the company's flagship product. The four types of photoresist gases independently developed by the company, Ar/F/Ne, Kr/Ne, Ar/Ne, and Kr/F/Ne, are the only gas companies in China that have passed the certification of both ASML in the Netherlands and GIGAPHOTON Corporation in Japan, and have been sold and generated orders." Fu Zhuhong, general manager of Huate Gas, responded to the reporter of "Star Daily" at the 2023 annual performance briefing that the company achieved historic breakthroughs in overseas photoresist gas sales in 2023.
According to financial data, in 2023, Huate Gas's revenue was 1.5 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 16.8%; the net profit attributable was 171 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 17.18%. As of the first quarter of 2024, the company achieved revenue of 333 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 7.3%; and a net profit of 45.0952 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 12.68%.
Huate Gas stated that the downstream semiconductor industry has not recovered as expected and has had a certain impact on the company's revenue.
Regarding the recovery of the downstream semiconductor industry this year and its future trend, Fu Zhuhong expressed a bullish view. According to a report jointly released by SEMI, with the increase in sales of the electronics sector, stable inventory, and an increase in wafer fab capacity, there are signs of improvement in the global semiconductor manufacturing industry in the first quarter of 2024, and industry growth is expected to become even stronger in the second half of the year.
In the context of the slowdown in the growth of the consumer electronics industry and the decline in semiconductor sales in 2023, last year, SOLE MATERIALS CO., LTD, a semiconductor and display gas company, and JinkoSolar, a new energy power generation company, became Huate Gas' new top five customers.
In terms of sales revenue composition, Guo Zhanquan, Huate Gas' financial manager, said that in 2023 revenue, IC accounted for about 56%, still the company's main source of income; photovoltaics and panels together accounted for about 11%.
In terms of specific performance in the subdivided product category market, the production and sales volume of ordinary industrial gas grew the fastest, followed by the production volume of photoresist and other mixed gases reached 2954.57 tons, a year-on-year increase of 10.96%, and the sales volume increased by 13.58% year-on-year. In comparison, the production and sales of welding insulation gas cylinders and other ancillary equipment had the largest decrease, both over 40%.
Fu Zhuhong told "Star Daily" reporters that the company's main focus is on the research and application of special gases. "As of the end of 2023, the company has 57 projects under research and development, and projects applying to the etching process account for the majority. In 2024, the company will mainly launch new fluorocarbon, hydride, rare and mixed gas products."
Among them, Huate Gas' new fluorinated gas hexafluorobutadiene is mainly used in the etching process of advanced processes of large-scale integrated circuits, which has received much attention from investors.
When asked about the demand for hexafluorobutadiene in the market, Wan Lingzhi, the secretary of the board of directors of Huate Gas, said that hexafluorobutadiene is a new generation of etching gas. It can replace CF4 for dry processing of semiconductor capacitor graphics using KrF laser sharp etching. It is mainly used for etching of 3DNAND, especially after the number of layers increases, the demand for hexafluorobutadiene increases."At present, the market price of hexafluorobutadiene products is relatively stable." added Guo Zhanquan.
According to Linx Consulting statistics, the global scale of hexafluorobutadiene in 2021 was US$310 million; Fuji Economics predicts the market to be US$480 million in 2024.
Due to the broad prospects of hexafluorobutadiene, domestic enterprises such as CSSC Special Gas, SMIC, and Jiangsu Nata Opto-electronic Material are continuously increasing their investment in the fluorinated etching gas industry, further intensifying market competition.
At this performance briefing, Huate Gas Vice Chairman Shi Sihui stated that the company established a subsidiary in Thailand in 2022, mainly using investment in on-site gas production business as a starting point, and relied on the regional advantages of the overseas company and the advantages of the company's special gas products to increase customer recognition. As of now, the company has increased its on-site gas production projects in Thailand to three. At the same time, its products have been certified by Singapore's "3D NAND manufacturer" through the acquisition of an overseas company.