Recently, there have been many developments in the domestic collaborative robot sector in the Capital Markets.

On December 23, Yujiang Technology was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange; by the end of December, another collaborative robot company, JIEKA Robot, also had new updates.

According to the official website of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, on December 31, JIEKA Robot Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "JIEKA Robot") updated its prospectus, with GTJA as the sponsor.

After years of effort, domestically-made collaborative robots currently hold a significant position in the international market, with JIEKA Robot, Yujiang Technology, and Aobo Intelligent Technology referred to in the industry as the "Three Heroes of Collaborative Robots."

Interestingly, during the rush to go public, the competition for the first collaborative robot stock has always been a popular Topics. JIEKA Robot submitted its prospectus to the Star board of the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2023, and after inquiries, the meeting time has not been disclosed yet.

Although Aobo Intelligent Technology is rumored to have started the listing counseling, it has yet to submit the application.

In contrast, Yujiang Robot successfully took the lead, submitting its prospectus to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in June 2024, and successfully landed on the Hong Kong stock market in December under the 18C rules.

Regarding market share, the two companies provided different dimensions of data in their prospectuses.

According to its prospectus, Siasun Robot&Automation ranks second among all global collaborative robot industry participants in terms of global collaborative robot shipment volume in 2023, and first among all Chinese collaborative robot companies.

However, according to the prospectus of Jieka Robot, Jieka Robot's revenue over the past three years slightly exceeded that of Siasun Robot&Automation.

Next, let's explore the specific situation of the collaborative robot industry and Jieka Robot through the prospectus.

01

Founded by entrepreneurs from the post-80s generation, supported by Shanghai Jiaotong University and SoftBank.

Jieka Robot was established in July 2014, headquartered in Minhang District, Shanghai, founded a year earlier than Siasun Robot&Automation in Shenzhen.

The company's founder is Li Mingyang, who currently controls a total of 41.63% of the voting rights in the company through direct and indirect means and serves as the chairman and general manager, acting as the actual controller of the company.

Li Mingyang was born in 1981 and has worked as an engineer at Shanghai Ziqian Beverage Company, later serving as a sales manager for many years at Tetra Pak, with no prior experience in the robotics industry before founding Siasun Robot&Automation.

By chance, he met a group of outstanding talents from Shanghai Jiao Tong University. In June 2014, Li Mingyang, Wang Jiapeng, Yan Yonghua, Zhang Jianrong, and Hai'an Jiaorui signed the "Articles of Association of Shanghai Siasun Robot&Automation Technology Co., Ltd.", jointly investing to establish Siasun Limited (the predecessor of Siasun Robot&Automation).

Hai'an Jiaorui is a holding platform for ten faculty members from Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Currently, the core technical staff of Siasun Robot&Automation, including Xu Xiong, Liu Bofeng, Shao Wei, and Zhai Jiaxin, all come from related majors such as Mechatronics Engineering at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

In the field of robotics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University can be considered a leader in the country.

Public information shows that in 1985, Shanghai Jiao Tong University established the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Robotics Research Institute, one of the earliest professional institutions in China engaged in robotics technology research and development.

Sheng Xinjun, a founding partner of Siasun Robot&Automation, is currently the Vice Dean of the School of Mechanical and Power Engineering at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, as well as the Vice Dean of the Yuan Zhi Robot Research Institute at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

During the reporting period, the company signed a "Cooperation Framework Agreement for the Joint Research Center for Intelligent Manufacturing between Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Siasun Robot&Automation", under which the company signed multiple technical development agreements/technical entrustment development agreements with Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

In this regard, regulatory authorities inquired whether "the company's technology research and development relies on Shanghai Jiao Tong University and whether it has independent research and innovation capabilities."

In response to the inquiry letter, Siasun Robot&Automation stated that the company has independently iterated during the subsequent research and development process, and the core technology system does not rely on commissioned research results, and there is no dependency on Shanghai Jiaotong University, possessing independent research and innovation capabilities.

During its development, Siasun Robot&Automation experienced multiple rounds of financing, attracting investment from well-known Institutions such as Temasek and SoftBank. According to the prospectus, in the external financing in May 2022, the post-investment valuation of the company was 3.65 billion yuan.

02

The company is currently in the stage of research and development investment and has not yet turned a profit.

Siasun Robot&Automation's main business is the research, development, production, and sales of collaborative robot complete products, and it is engaged in robot system integration business including integrated equipment and automation production lines. From January to June 2024, complete robots accounted for 95.42% of the company's revenue.

The company's collaborative robot complete products are divided into various standardized products, including the Zu series, Pro series, C series, Mini series, Zus series, All-in-one integrated series, S series, K series, etc., with payloads ranging from 1kg to 20kg.

The main application fields of the company's main products are sourced from the prospectus.

In 2021, 2022, 2023, and January to June 2024 (reporting period), the company's revenue was 0.176 billion yuan, 0.281 billion yuan, 0.35 billion yuan, and 0.167 billion yuan respectively, with a compound annual growth rate of 41% from 2021 to 2023.

In the first half of 2024, the growth rate was affected by the automation production line business, and the revenue growth rate decreased year-on-year to 5.29%, while the revenue from core robot complete machine products increased by 56.35%, and the business expansion situation was good.

During the same period, the company's net income attributable to shareholders was -7.2331 million yuan, 5.7357 million yuan, -28.5473 million yuan, and -3.2541 million yuan, respectively, while the net income attributable to shareholders after deducting non-recurring items was -18.4638 million yuan, 0.044 million yuan, -35.6793 million yuan, and -7.73 million yuan. The increase in losses in 2023 was mainly due to the impact of new large share-based payment expenses.

As of June 30, 2024, the cumulative undistributed profits in the consolidated financial statements of the company were -67.516 million yuan, resulting in cumulative unremedied losses.

Key financial data, source: prospectus.

During the reporting period, the integrated gross margin of Siasun Robot&Automation remained at a high level, at 49.39%, 50.23%, 48.25%, and 56.10%, which is higher than the average level of companies in the Industry.

Comparison of comprehensive gross margin of peer companies, source: prospectus.

The prospectus states that the Siasun Robot&Automation was initially in the market and customer introduction stage with a small sales scale, and the collaborative robot industry it belongs to is technology-intensive. The company has invested heavily in technology and product development, marketing, etc., which is also one of the important reasons why the company is still incurring losses.

During the reporting period, the proportion of R&D expenses to revenue was 15.27%, 16.92%, 20.92%, and 24.25% respectively, while the proportion of sales expenses to revenue was 28.41%, 30.72%, 30.93%, and 30.64% respectively.

According to the forward-looking analysis of future profitability, the Siasun Robot&Automation is expected to return to profitability with a net income of around 17 million yuan after deducting non-recurring profits and losses by 2025.

At that time, the company's revenue is expected to be about 0.621 billion yuan, with a compound annual growth rate of 30.30% in revenue from 2022 to 2025, and a comprehensive gross margin of 48.15%. The stock-based compensation expense is estimated to be 35.4484 million yuan, while the R&D expense rate, sales expense rate, and management expense rate after excluding the impact of stock compensation are approximately 15.60%, 19.09%, and 7.62% respectively.

During the reporting period, the main customers of the collaborative robot complete machine business included Jinhe, Suzhou Dongshan Precision Manufacturing, CRRC Corporation, Changzhou Xingyu Automotive Lighting Systems, Luxshare Precision Industry, Schneider, and others.

03

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

Collaborative robots are a new branch developed from the field of industrial robots, characterized by their ability to interact closely with humans in a shared working space.

Compared to traditional industrial robots, collaborative robots feature high safety, low weight-to-load ratio, ease of programming, and quick deployment; innovative application modes are continually emerging, and the application scenarios are becoming increasingly diversified, presenting a broad market development outlook.

Sub-fields of robots, source: prospectus.

In 2023, the main downstream application industries for collaborative robots in China are Autos and parts (approximately 39%), 3C electronics (approximately 13%), and machining (approximately 12%). In recent years, the shipment volume of collaborative robots in non-industrial scenarios such as Medical, Education, and Dining has grown significantly.

According to IFR statistics, global sales of collaborative robots have maintained rapid growth in recent years, reaching 0.057 million units in 2023, with a compound growth rate of approximately 32% from 2017 to 2023. According to predictions from the High Industry Research Institute (GGII), global sales of six-axis and above collaborative robots are expected to exceed 0.28 million units by 2028, with the market size expected to surpass 30 billion yuan.

According to IFR and MIR industrial statistics, China has also become the world's largest collaborative robot market, with domestic market sales accounting for approximately 41% of global total sales in 2023.

Global collaborative robot sales and growth rate, source: prospectus.

Currently, the main companies in the Global collaborative robot field include Denmark's Universal Robots, as well as domestic companies such as Jenka, Aobo, and Elite. In addition, South Korean listed company Doosan is one of the main suppliers in the overseas collaborative robot market.

In 2023, Jenka Robot's collaborative robot sales reached 4,681 units. According to the global sales data of 0.057 million units published by IFR, the company's Global market share is approximately 8.2%, placing it among the top tier companies in the industry.

However, previously, Yejian Technology stated in its prospectus that based on Global collaborative robot shipment volumes, Yejian Technology ranks first among all Chinese collaborative robot companies globally.

However, during the reporting period, Yejian Technology's revenue was 0.174 billion yuan, 0.241 billion yuan, 0.287 billion yuan, and 0.12 billion yuan, slightly lower than Jenka Robot's 0.176 billion yuan, 0.281 billion yuan, 0.35 billion yuan, and 0.167 billion yuan.

According to Guosheng Securities Research Reports, if companies are categorized by Market Cap and innovation capability, both Jenka Robot and Yejian Technology fall into the mid-low Market Cap and high innovation capability quadrant, both being innovators in the Machinery Industry.

2023 China robot industry competitive landscape, source: Guosheng Securities

After the fundraising investment project reaches full production, Siasun Robot&Automation will achieve an annual production scale of 0.04 million collaborative robots by 2030.

Currently, Siasun Robot&Automation maintains a relatively leading position in the collaborative robot Industry; whether it can continue to expand its market share and gradually move towards profitability remains to be seen!