According to Gelonghui, Chongqing New Aluminum Era Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "New Aluminum Era") has submitted an IPO application to the Growth Enterprise Market recently with Citic Securities as its exclusive sponsor.

New Aluminum Era is mainly engaged in R&D, production and sales of aluminum alloy parts for new energy vehicle battery systems, and has a complete business system of aluminum alloy material R&D, product design and advanced production technology.

In terms of equity structure, the actual controllers of the company are He Feng and He Yu, who are father and daughter. As of the date of signing the prospectus, He Feng directly holds 44.9246% of the company's shares, and He Yu indirectly controls 8.3564% of the company's shares through Runfeng Aluminum. At the same time, He Feng's spouse and He Yu's mother, Hu Guoping, are the concerted actors, holding 2.2803% of the company's shares directly.

He Feng, He Yu and their concerted actors Hu Guoping control a total of 55.5613% of the company's voting rights through direct and indirect means.

According to the prospectus, the company's planned fundraising for this time is about 1 billion yuan, of which 800 million yuan will be used for the annual production of 800,000 sets of new energy vehicle parts in Nanchuan District, and 200 million yuan will be used for supplementing working capital.

The R&D expense ratio is lower than that of comparable companies in the same industry.

New Aluminum Era's main product is the battery box body, which is a key component of the new energy vehicle power battery system.

In 2021, 2022 and 2023, the revenue from new energy vehicle power battery system parts accounted for over 95% of the company's total revenue. Among them, the revenue from battery box body accounted for over 83% of the company's main business revenue, which was the main source of the company's main business revenue.

The company's main product revenue, sourced from the prospectus.

In terms of performance, the revenue of New Aluminum Era in 2021, 2022 and 2023 is about 618 million yuan, 1.421 billion yuan and 1.782 billion yuan respectively, and the net income attributable to the parent company is about 26.8204 million yuan, 165 million yuan and 189 million yuan respectively.

The company's main financial indicators come from the prospectus.

The gross profit margin of the company's main business in 2021, 2022 and 2023 is 21.51%, 29.97% and 24.12% respectively, higher than the average gross profit margin of comparable listed companies in the same period and industry, but there is some fluctuation.

The comparison of the company's main business gross profit margin and the gross profit margin of comparable listed companies in the same industry, sourced from the prospectus.

New Aluminum Era stated that in 2021 and 2022, the new energy vehicle market entered the stage of market-driven growth, downstream demand rose rapidly, penetration rate increased, and the increase in the sales price of the company's battery box body product drove the growth of the company's gross profit margin. The company's gross profit margin is slightly higher than that of other listed companies in the same industry that mainly engage in traditional auto parts business.

In 2023, the revenue and sales volume of the company's new energy vehicle battery box body will continue to grow, and the gross profit margin of the main business will slightly decline, but it will still maintain a high level, which is not significantly different from that of industry leader Minth Group.

In 2021, 2022 and 2023, the R&D expense ratios of New Aluminum Era are 3.93%, 2.89% and 3.31% respectively, lower than the average of comparable companies in the same period.

The comparison of the company's R&D expense ratio and that of comparable listed companies in the same industry, sourced from the prospectus.

In the prospectus, New Aluminum Era stated that due to the continuous progress of new energy vehicle industry and technology, the company also needs to constantly innovate products and technologies to meet customer needs and industry iterations. If the company is not innovative enough, it may be impacted by alternative technologies and products, which may affect the company's performance.

Revenue depends on the largest customer.

New Aluminum Era has a high concentration of customers. According to the prospectus, in 2021, 2022 and 2023, most of New Aluminum Era's revenue comes from cooperation with BYD, with BYD's revenue accounting for 70.42%, 78.87% and 80.46% respectively. Therefore, the company is heavily dependent on BYD.

New Aluminum Era stated that BYD has strict, long-term certification and comprehensive assessment processes for suppliers, involving R&D, technology innovation, supply, patents and other aspects. If the company cannot continue to maintain advantages in supplying new energy vehicle battery box body and other parts to BYD, it may be difficult to maintain its cooperation with BYD, which will have a significant impact on the company's operational performance.

In the past three years, the scale of receivables in the new aluminum era has gradually increased. In 2021, 2022 and 2023, the company's receivable items mainly include accounts receivable, bills receivable and receivable financing, which are about 215 million yuan, 1.036 billion yuan and 1.112 billion yuan respectively, accounting for 51.27%, 69.85% and 69.96% of the company's current assets, and increasing year by year.

In response to the rapid growth of the company's operating scale, the new aluminum era states that by discounting the factoring of accounts receivable, it has improved the efficiency of capital use. Due to the fact that the factoring of accounts receivable does not confirm termination, the scale and proportion of the company's receivables have increased.

In addition, the net cash flow from operating activities of the new aluminum era has been negative in the past three years. In 2021, 2022, and 2023, the company's net cash flow from operating activities were approximately -90.871 million yuan, -803 million yuan, and -948 million yuan, respectively, with a overall increasing trend in net outflows.

Regarding the negative cash flow from operating activities generated by the company from 2021 to 2023, and the rapid growth in net outflow of operating cash flow in 2022, the company states that it is mainly because the cash flow obtained by the factoring or discounting of accounts receivable and bills receivable were included in the cash inflow from financing activities column, resulting in a decrease in cash inflow from operating activities.

In 2021, 2022, and 2023, the company's asset-liability ratio was 50.88%, 72.84%, and 66.56%, respectively. The company states that this is mainly because the cost of raw materials used for production and operation accounts for a large proportion, requiring more operating funds, and mainly relies on internal operating accumulation and debt financing such as bank loans to supplement operating funds. With the rapid growth of the company's business scale, the efficiency of capital use was improved by factoring the accounts receivable and bills receivable.

Due to the factoring of accounts receivable not being confirmed and terminated, the asset-liability ratio of the company has increased. If the company is unable to obtain external financing that matches the company's development scale and speed, it will face the risk of capital shortage.

Epilogue

In recent years, the revenue and net income attributable to shareholders of the new aluminum era have both increased, but there are hidden concerns behind the performance growth. For example, from 2021 to 2023, the net cash flow from operating activities of the company has been negative, the asset-liability ratio is at a high level and the receivables are high, which may pose some risks to the company's operational stability. These issues also need to be taken seriously by investors.