Intense competition, unit prices fell, and profits of domestic laser listed companies generally declined in the first quarter

For a long time, foreign brands represented by IPG have occupied most of the domestic fiber laser market, but domestic laser manufacturers are accelerating the pace of catching up. On April 18, Raycus Laser (300747) (300747, SZ) released its first annual report after listing. In 2018, it achieved operating income of 1.462 billion yuan and attributable net profit of 433 million yuan, up 53.63% and 56.05% year-on-year respectively. .

The reporter of "Daily Economic News" noticed that the overall development of the laser industry in 2018 was good, and the downstream application fields continued to expand. , Guangyunda (300227) and other listed companies also achieved net profit growth.

1Most of the net profits of listed laser companies have increased

The early products of Raycus, which landed on the GEM in 2018, are pulsed fiber lasers, mainly for the laser marking market. After 2016, the share of Raycus' high-power continuous fiber laser series products gradually increased, and the market application gradually expanded to laser cutting and welding.

The 2018 annual report shows that Raycus' continuous fiber laser products achieved revenue of 1.115 billion yuan last year, accounting for 76.28% of the revenue, far exceeding that of pulsed fiber lasers. Raycus said that in 2018, China's laser industry showed a steady growth trend, and emerging industries such as semiconductors, panels, and new energy vehicles have an increasing demand for laser equipment.

Zheshang Securities Research Report believes that

In the short term, the capital expenditure of downstream industrial enterprises has gradually contracted since the second half of 2018, and the industry's year-on-year growth rate and expected guidance have slowed down; in the medium and long term, with the strong expansion of demand in emerging fields such as new energy vehicles, power batteries, OLED, and semiconductors According to estimates, the market demand for laser equipment driven by investment in emerging fields is more than 10 billion, which will strongly support the medium and long-term sustainable development of the laser industry.

In the case of the overall upward trend of the industry, the performance of listed laser companies in 2018 generally increased. The performance report released by Han’s Laser, a leading laser company, shows that last year, it achieved revenue of 11 billion yuan and attributable net profit of 1.721 billion yuan. Yuan, an increase of 15.05% year-on-year, and attributable net profit of 7.14 million yuan, turning losses into profits year-on-year; Guangyunda achieved revenue of 580 million yuan in 2018, and achieved attributable net profit of 68.23 million yuan, an increase of 13.04% and 11.17% respectively; Daheng Technology 2018 The annual operating income was 3.342 billion yuan, and the attributable net profit was 50.64 million yuan, up 12.68% and 45.33% year-on-year respectively.

The quasi-listed company Dier Laser, which just passed the meeting, also experienced high performance growth. Last year, its operating income was 365 million yuan, and its attributable net profit was 168 million yuan, an increase of 120.59% and 150.13% year-on-year respectively. However, Huagong Technology (000988), which is engaged in the entire industry chain layout in the laser field, has increased revenue but not profit. In 2018, its revenue and attributable net profit were 5.233 billion yuan and 284 million yuan, with a year-on-year increase or decrease of 16.79% and -12.51%. .

2Faced with the worry of falling product prices

Although the performance of most listed laser companies has risen, they are also facing the problem of profit ceilings. According to the 2019 first quarter report released by Raycus Laser on April 18, the revenue during the reporting period was 399 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 24.27%, but the attributable net profit was 100 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 10.88%.

In this regard, Raycus said that the growth rate of the fiber laser market has slowed down significantly compared with the first quarter of the same period last year, and the unit price of product sales has been greatly reduced, resulting in a decrease in gross profit margin.

In fact, in the past few years, the unit price of Raycus Laser's products has shown a downward trend as a whole. The "Prospectus (Declaration)" submitted in March 2018 shows that from 2015 to 2017, the average prices of Raycus' pulsed fiber lasers were 16,900 yuan per set, 12,500 yuan per set, and 12,500 yuan per set, respectively. The average prices of continuous fiber lasers are 151,500 yuan/unit, 130,600 yuan/unit, and 134,700 yuan/unit.

Guosen Securities Research Report believes that

In 2019, domestic laser companies are at the critical point of listing. It is expected that the market competition will be more intense, and the price of products below 3000W in the domestic fiber laser market is expected to further decline.

Previously, Raycus made some core components such as optical fiber, pump source, optical isolator, etc., which reduced the cost of raw materials, maintained a high gross profit margin, and the net profit was still growing. However, under the downward trend of product prices, it remains to be seen whether such profit space can continue.

Regarding the impact of the drop in product prices and the response plan, on April 18, a reporter from "Daily Economic News" called the Office of the Secretary of the Board of Directors of Raycus and sent an interview email, but no reply was received as of press time.

The performance of other listed laser companies in the first quarter of 2019 also basically showed a decline in profits. The performance forecast for the first quarter of 2019 shows that from January to March, Han's Laser is expected to have an attributable net profit of 128 million yuan to 164 million yuan, down 55% to 65% year-on-year; Jinyun Laser is expected to have an attributable net profit of about 3.1 million to 3.63 million yuan. Yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 15%-27%; Guangyunda’s estimated net profit attributable to 7.06 million-10.08 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 0%-30%. Huagong Technology has seen a growth in performance. In the first quarter of this year, it is expected to make a profit of 88 million yuan to 100 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 44.86%-64.61%.