1. In the first quarter of 2025, GeKowe's revenue was 1.524 billion yuan, an increase of 18.21% year-on-year; net income attributable to the parent was -51.7309 million yuan, a decrease of 271.50% year-on-year; 2. In 2024, GeKowe achieved revenue of 6.383 billion yuan, an increase of 35.90% year-on-year; net income attributable to the parent was 0.187 billion yuan, an increase of 287.20%.
On April 28, the Star reported (Reporter Chen Junqing) that GeKowe released its earnings reports for 2024 and the first quarter of 2025 on the evening of April 28.
In the first quarter of 2025, GeKowe achieved revenue of 1.524 billion yuan, an increase of 18.21% year-on-year; net income attributable to the parent was -51.7309 million yuan, a decrease of 271.50%, mainly due to fierce market competition leading to lower prices and reduced gross margin; the non-recurring net income attributable to the parent was -56.7293 million yuan, a decrease of 573.77%, due to continuous increases in high-resolution R&D expenditures leading to profit declines.
The annual report shows that in 2024, GeKowe achieved revenue of 6.383 billion yuan, an increase of 35.90% year-on-year; net income attributable to the parent was 0.187 billion yuan, an increase of 287.20%; the non-recurring net income was 0.071 billion yuan, an increase of 14.54%.
However, GeKowe's cash flow situation is quite good, with a net cash flow from operating activities (CFO) of 0.957 billion yuan for 2024, an increase of 136.38% compared to the same period last year, primarily due to increased sales bringing in more payments and increased government subsidies.
When looking at the segmented business, in 2024, the products with the top two revenue shares for GeKowe were CMOS image sensor phones and display driver chips. Among them, CMOS image sensor phones achieved revenue of 3.598 billion yuan, an increase of 60.44% year-on-year; display driver chips achieved revenue of 1.356 billion yuan, an increase of 9.47%. From the product structure perspective, the revenue share of high-pixel CMOS image sensors continues to rise.
It is noteworthy that although the company experienced significant revenue growth, the gross margin has declined. Overall, the comprehensive gross margin of its main business for 2024 was 22.79%, down 6.71 percentage points from the same period last year.
In terms of main business, the annual report shows that the gross margin of the company's CMOS image sensor phone business declined to 21.02%, a decrease of 10.40 percentage points year-on-year, primarily due to intensified market competition and rising costs; the gross margin of display driver chips was 14.04%, a decrease of 6.37 percentage points year-on-year, largely affected by rising raw material prices.
From a regional perspective, in 2024, the overseas revenue of Ge Ke Wei accounted for the highest proportion, reaching 3.809 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 84.54%; the gross margin was 20.85%, a decrease of 8.83 percentage points from the same period last year, primarily due to strong demand for high-pixel products in overseas markets, but fierce competition compressed profit margins. Domestic sales revenue was 2.57 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 2.17%, with a gross margin of 25.66%, a decrease of 3.70 percentage points from the same period last year, mainly affected by fluctuations in the domestic market environment.
In terms of research and development, in 2024, Ge Ke Wei's R&D expenditure was 0.952 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 19.66%, accounting for 14.91% of revenue, a decrease of 2.02 percentage points from the previous year, mainly due to improved R&D efficiency. The number of R&D personnel increased to 923, accounting for 44.52% of total employees, with an average salary of 0.4518 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.99%, mainly benefiting from the optimization of internal incentive mechanisms.
During the reporting period, 44 new invention patents were granted, with a total of 273 invention patents and 214 utility model patents held, with technological breakthroughs concentrated in the fields of high-pixel CMOS image Sensors and display driver chips, covering application scenarios including Smart Phones, Automotive electronics, and AI glasses in Emerging Markets.
In the annual report, Ge Ke Wei stated that the Global semiconductor industry is at a critical stage of technological upgrading, with continuous expansion of demand in the CMOS image Sensor market, and high-pixel products becoming the mainstream development direction of the industry. During the reporting period, the company ranked second in global shipments of CMOS image sensor products, with a market share of about 23%, mainly benefiting from the rapid promotion of high-pixel products in domestic and foreign markets. Additionally, the company's competitiveness in the display driver chip sector has also improved, with a significant increase in the sales proportion of TDDI products.
Regarding changes in Shareholder Holdings, the top ten circulating shareholders of Ge Ke Wei this period held a combined 67.61%. New shareholders include: Cosmos L.P. (holding 310.5991 million shares), Pacven Walden Ventures V, L.P. (holding 118.6159 million shares); exiting shareholders: Pacven Walden Ventures V L.P. (originally holding 118.6159 million shares), China Construction Bank Corporation - Huaxia Guozheng Semiconductor Chip Exchange Traded Open-Ended Index Securities Investment Fund (originally holding 14.2664 million shares).
In terms of fundraising projects, the company has cumulatively invested 3.519 billion yuan in the "12-inch CIS Integrated Circuits Special Process R&D and Industrialization Project," achieving 100.34% of the planned progress. The capacity utilization rate of this project has increased by 15 percentage points compared to the same period last year, with an achieved production rate of 85%. During the reporting period, there were no adjustments to the use of fundraising project funds or changes to the implementing entity, nor were there any project delays.
In terms of capacity, "Currently, the Lingang plant has reached full production status, and by the end of 2024, the plant has achieved mass production of 8 million, 13 million, and 50 million pixel products, with plans to launch higher pixel specification products in the future," stated Ge Ke Wei in the annual report.
