Last Friday, the Tesla robot team announced the latest progress of the Optimus humanoid robot on the social media platform. From the video, it can be seen that Optimus easily caught the tennis ball thrown towards it with one hand, and its fingers can bend relatively flexibly.

This is another high-difficulty dynamic action unlocked, in addition to going up stairs, lifting heavy objects, and human-robot interactions. Tesla's Optimus engineers referred to the newly demonstrated dexterous hand as a "milestone achievement".

The outlook for the robotics industry is gradually becoming clear, with the A-share robot sector speculation heating up once again. Dongfang Financial Robot Concept Index has risen by 63.94% since its low point on September 19.

In recent days, Guangdong Dongfang Precision Science & Technology, Shenzhen Bestek Technology, and other old stocks have adjusted, while Shandong Mining Machinery Group, Taier Heavy Industry, and Greatoo Intelligent Equipment Inc. have continued to rise limit up, maintaining the heat.

While the secondary market sentiment is high, many early-stage companies are rushing to go public.

Following Zhejiang Envirobot Robotics filing for Star Market IPO approval last week, another domestic robotics leader in a niche field is aiming to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

According to the official website of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, on December 1st, Shenzhen Amara Technology Co., Ltd. (referred to as "Amara Technology") conducted a hearing at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with Guotai Junan International and Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development as joint sponsors.

Founded in July 2015, Yuejiang Technology is headquartered in Nanshan District, Shenzhen. The company mainly engages in the design, development, manufacturing, and commercialization of collaborative robots, which can be used in various fields such as manufacturing, retail, medical health, STEAM education, and research scenarios.

During the development process, the company has gone through 9 rounds of financing, attracting investments from many well-known institutions such as Deep Creation Investment, Songhe Growth, Qianhai Equity, etc. On September 16, 2022, the final round of financing before submitting the application was completed, with a post-investment valuation of RMB 3.531 billion.

It is worth noting that Yuejiang Technology's collaborative robot products are at a relatively early stage of commercialization, only reaching the revenue requirements of Listing Rules 18C in 2023.

Next, let's explore the specific situation of Yuejiang Technology through the prospectus.

01

Collaborative robots have a wide range of applications and the industry is growing rapidly.

Yuejiang Technology is one of the leading companies specialized in the development, manufacturing, and commercialization of collaborative robots.

Collaborative robots are robots with manipulable robotic arms, used for direct human-machine interaction or collaboration in shared spaces or in close proximity to humans. Collaborative robots have attractive value, enabling seamless and safe collaboration between personnel and machines, enhancing productivity, flexibility, and quality in various industries.

Company's main product map, Source: Prospectus

The collaborative robot industry is currently in a period of rapid growth. The global collaborative robot market size has increased significantly from 0.467 billion USD in 2019 to 1.04 billion USD in 2023, with a compound annual growth rate of 22.2%. It is expected to reach 4.95 billion USD by 2028, with a compound annual growth rate of 36.6% from 2023 to 2028.

Global collaborative robot market size from 2019 to 2028, Source: Prospectus

The growth rate of the global collaborative robot industry far exceeds that of the traditional industrial robot industry. The widespread adoption of AI technology is expected to further accelerate the adoption of collaborative robots in more scenarios.

The rapid growth of the collaborative robot market is mainly driven by several key factors.

The most important reason is that advances in AI integration and other technologies not only improve the capabilities of collaborative robots, but also bring economies of scale, thereby reducing costs and making collaborative robots more affordable.

In addition, the aging population has led to a shortage of labor and an increase in labor costs, making the demand for automation even more urgent. Therefore, companies in the commercial sector are increasingly adopting collaborative robots in scenarios such as unmanned retail, meal preparation assistance, and other services to improve operational efficiency.

In recent years, China's position in the global collaborative robot market has become increasingly important, with its share of the global collaborative robot market expected to rise from 26.3% in 2023 to 37.2% in 2028. The compound annual growth rate from 2023 to 2028 is projected to be 46.5%.

02

The company's revenue continues to grow, but it has not yet been profitable.

As the industry scales up, Yexiang Technology's performance during the reporting period has also shown growth.

In 2021, 2022, 2023, and the first half of 2024 (reporting period), the company's revenue was 0.174 billion yuan, 0.241 billion yuan, 0.287 billion yuan, and 0.12 billion yuan respectively. The compound annual growth rate from 2021 to 2023 is 28.3%. In terms of net income, the company has continued to incur losses during the reporting period, with -41.75 million yuan, -52.48 million yuan, -0.103 billion yuan, and -59.88 million yuan, respectively.

Key financial data, source: prospectus

From 2021 to 2023, the company's gross margins were 50.5%, 40.8%, and 43.5%, significantly higher than the industry average. The outstanding gross margin is mainly attributed to the company's global distribution network and international customers. In 2023, the overseas market accounted for 59.1% of total revenue, rising to 61.4% in the first half of 2024.

The net income loss is mainly due to the company being in the early stages of commercialization, with high sales and marketing expenses, administrative expenses, and R&D expenses. In the first half of 2024, the company's R&D expense ratio was 26.1%, and the sales and distribution expense ratio reached 51.9%.

Yuejiang Technology has high technical barriers, covering multiple fields such as machinery engineering, computer science, control systems, human-computer interaction, artificial intelligence, microelectronic circuit technology, and sensor technology. The company's self-developed R&D team is committed to expanding the available functions and usage scenarios of collaborative robot products to meet specific needs in different industries.

As of the last feasible date, the company has obtained 213 invention patents, 302 utility model patents, and 131 design patents. For example, the patent collision detection method won the 24th China Patent Excellence Award; the patent dynamic motion control method won the 2023 Guangdong Silver Patent Award; the patent for high-precision desktop robot structural design technology won the 2021 Shenzhen Science and Technology Patent Award. The human-computer interaction technology based on electronic skin conductance control was rated as internationally leading technology by the Expert Group of the China Mechanical Industry Association.

03

The company is a leading domestic player in the collaborative robot field.

As of the last feasible date, the company offers a total of 27 models in 4 series of collaborative robots, catering to a wide range of usage scenarios in manufacturing, retail, medical health, STEAM education, research, and other fields.

Yuejiang Technology's collaborative robots are mainly divided into two categories by axis: four-axis collaborative robots and six-axis collaborative robots. In the first half of 2024, these two models accounted for 30.5% and 53% of the company's total revenue, respectively.

Among the company's 27 models, 22 are six-axis models, and 5 are four-axis models, with a load capacity ranging from 0.25 kilograms to 20 kilograms.

The six-axis collaborative robots mainly include the CR series and Nova series, which can be used to perform various tasks such as material handling, sorting, stacking, and inspection, as well as more precise manufacturing tasks such as screw locking, adhesive application, and laser welding. Additionally, they can execute tasks in consumer-facing environments such as latte art, bubble tea preparation, therapy, and photography.

The four-axis collaborative robot series mainly include the Magician series and M series, adopting an integrated lightweight design, compact in size, easy to use on desktops, and very suitable for scenarios in STEAM education environments and several lightweight manufacturing applications, such as labeling and electronic component testing processes.

Company's business composition, source: prospectus

The global collaborative robot industry is relatively concentrated, with the top five global participants holding a market share of approximately 46.3% based on global collaborative robot shipments in 2023.

It is worth noting that among the top five, 4 are Chinese manufacturers, highlighting the important role China plays in shaping the global market landscape.

Global collaborative robot market top 5 manufacturers situation in 2023, source: prospectus.

In 2023, according to the global collaborative robot shipment volume, Weilan Technology ranked second among all market participants in the global collaborative robot industry and first among all Chinese collaborative robot companies. Jieka Stock, Weilan Technology, and Aobo Intelligence are known in the industry as the "Three Leaders of Collaborative Robots".

According to the Zhaoshi Consultancy report, Weilan Technology's collaborative robot export volume has ranked first in China for six consecutive years. During the past performance period, the company has sold a total of over 0.053 million units of collaborative robots worldwide; its sales network consists of direct sales and dealers, with business presence in more than 80 countries and regions globally, including major overseas markets such as the USA, EU, Japan, and Southeast Asia.

According to the Guosheng Securities research report, if classified based on enterprise market capitalization and innovation capabilities, Weilan Technology is positioned in the quadrant of medium-low market cap and relatively high innovation capabilities, belonging to the innovators in the robot industry.

Competition pattern of Chinese robot industry enterprises in 2023, source: Guosheng Securities.

In the past 9 years of development, Weilan Technology has made a good start. Whether it can maintain a leading position in the industry competition, gradually move towards profitability in the future, let us wait and see!