On December 2, the Star Daily reported (Reporter Wu Xuguang) that "In the first three quarters, the company saw growth in both chemical mechanical polishing liquids and functional wet electronic chemicals. Among them, the revenue from chemical mechanical polishing liquids is relatively large; the growth rate of functional wet electronic chemicals is fast." Wang Shumin, chairman of leading semiconductor polishing materials company anji microelectronics technology, stated to investors during the company's earnings conference on December 2 for the third quarter of 2024.

Anji microelectronics technology's main business is the R&D and industrialization of key semiconductor materials. Current products include different series of chemical mechanical polishing liquids, functional wet electronic chemicals, and electroplating liquids along with additive series products, mainly applied in integrated circuit manufacturing and advanced packaging fields.

Thanks to the company's product share improvement among downstream customers and the introduction of new products that have seen an increase in volume, anji microelectronics technology's revenue and net income have both risen in the first three quarters of this year.

In terms of performance, in the first three quarters of this year, anji microelectronics technology achieved revenue of 1.312 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 46.10%; the net income attributable to parent company was 0.393 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 24.46%; the non-recurring net profit was 0.383 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 58.64%.

In terms of profitability, anji microelectronics technology achieved a gross margin of 58.56% in the first three quarters, an increase of 2.52 percentage points compared to the same period last year.

Regarding the upcoming trends in gross margins for the company's polishing liquids, wet electronic chemicals, and electroplating liquids, anji microelectronics technology's director, deputy general manager, and secretary of the board of directors Yang Xun stated that both the chemical mechanical polishing liquids and functional wet electronic chemicals sectors have contributed to the growth in gross margin. Among them, the main reason for the increase in the gross margin of polishing liquids is the change in product structure and the structured introduction and volume increase of some new products; the main reason for the increase in gross margin for functional wet electronic chemicals is the gradual realization of scale effects.

It should be noted that some investors have expressed concern about the recent rise in upstream raw material prices and the downward trend in product prices, along with signs of "involution" within the industry.

In response, Liu Rong, the financial director of anji microelectronics technology, stated at the earnings conference that the company has been strategically coping with price competition during its development process. As a company driven by intellectual property and innovation, it provides a diverse product range for customers by increasing R&D investment and product innovation.

Regarding the industry's 'involution', Yang Xun admitted: 'We will not avoid this issue, nor will we engage in single low-price competition. While focusing on creating better products, the company is unlikely to fall into the so-called 'involution' situation. As the company’s product structure becomes increasingly rich, the overall benefits brought to customers will become a competitive advantage.'

In terms of the initial fundraising investment projects, the company's 'anji microelectronics technology (shanghai) Co., Ltd. CMP polishing liquid production line expansion project' was put into production in July this year.

At the earnings conference, Yang Xun, while introducing the production capacity of the aforementioned project and downstream demand, stated that the project has been successfully put into production and is in a continuous scaling process. In the first three quarters of 2024, the company’s chemical mechanical polishing liquid sector achieved steady growth, driven by the gradual increase in production of mass-produced products, customer capacity expansion, new application demand, and the growth in demand due to localization. Currently, the company’s capacity utilization rate is at a healthy level.

For the outlook for the entire year, Wang Shumin stated that the company's performance expectations for 2024 will continue the trend of the first three quarters.

When discussing changes in product demand for next year, Wang Shumin believes there are three opportunities: 'First, the company's multiple new products will gradually complete testing and verification and achieve mass production, bringing new growth to the company; second, products that have been mass-produced will continue to increase as customers expand their capacity and new applications are introduced; third, the localization demand from domestic customers will bring more opportunities, and the company will continue to strengthen the introduction of localized products.'