According to a report from the Financial Association on December 13 (Reporter Liang Xiangcai), amidst the rapid development of the Drone Industry, China Aerospace Times Electronics (600879.SH) plans to boost the investment by over 100 million yuan before the completion of its Yanqing Drone project to enhance equipment production capacity.

In the evening announcement, China Aerospace Times Electronics stated that its holding subsidiary, Aerospace Feihong, intends to optimize and adjust the content of the "Yanqing Drone Equipment Industrial Base Phase I Construction Project" (hereinafter referred to as the Yanqing Drone project), raising the project investment scale from 0.689 billion yuan to 0.8305 billion yuan, while maintaining the amount of raised funds unchanged.

Specifically, among the six major subprojects of the Yanqing Drone project, after reducing the proposed investment amount for some projects, the construction and installation engineering cost is increased from approximately 0.301 billion yuan to approximately 0.536 billion yuan, marking an increase of 78%; the investment in this project accounts for the highest proportion of the total project, at 64.52%.

Regarding the reasons for the increased investment in the aforementioned subprojects, the company stated that it aims to enhance equipment production capacity, increase the scale of construction, and expand the scale of supporting facilities.

As for the sources of the capital increase, the company indicated that the adjusted portion of the investment amount for this project will be resolved by Aerospace Feihong using self-raised funds, without involving any changes to the original amount of raised funds, and the project construction goals, construction period, and construction location will remain unchanged.

The announcement shows that as of November 30, 2024, the construction of the aforementioned project has invested 332.95 million yuan, with 332.2205 million yuan from raised funds and 0.7295 million yuan from self-owned funds.

According to the company's 2023 Earnings Reports, multiple models of Drone systems from Aerospace Feihong successfully won bids last year, filling the equipment gap in the composite wing field, further solidifying its leading position in the domestic campaign and tactical-level Drone equipment sector, thereby enriching the company's range of Drone system equipment.

In addition, new breakthroughs are constantly being made in the overseas market of the Drone sector, with Aerospace Feihong's medium-range multipurpose Drone system and small diameter guided missiles receiving international business Orders, maintaining a good development momentum in the international market.

It is reported that China Aerospace Times Electronics is the only publicly traded platform under the Ninth Academy of Aerospace, which is affiliated with Aerospace Hi-Tech Holding Group. In April 2018, China Aerospace Times Electronics, based on the Drone division of the Ninth Academy of Aerospace, established a specialized subsidiary for Drone industrialization in collaboration with its controlling Shareholder, namely Aerospace Feihong.

It is worth mentioning that the Yanqing Drone project is one of the three major projects included in the company’s planned capital increase of 4.136 billion yuan in 2021. Three years later, the increase of over 100 million yuan in this project reflects the rapid developments in the Drone sector in recent years.