On April 26, Raycus Laser disclosed the first quarter report of 2022. The company achieved operating income of 701 million yuan in the first quarter, a year-on-year increase of 20.13%; net profit attributable to the parent was 21 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 81.01%.
As a leading supplier of fiber lasers in China, Raycus has the R&D, production and service capabilities of fiber lasers ranging from materials, devices to vertical integration of the whole machine. It is a key high-tech enterprise of the National Torch Program.
Increase in revenue and decrease in net profit
In the first quarter of 2022, Raycus' revenue increased year-on-year, but net profit decreased year-on-year. There are two main reasons for the fluctuations in performance:
First, the current general manufacturing industry is subject to overall macro factors, and the demand has declined, superimposed on the repeated epidemics in the first quarter, which will have a certain impact on the overall laser supply chain;
Second, Raycus adopted a more aggressive price strategy when the industry was down. According to reports, as a leading enterprise, the company actively adopted a strategy of reducing sales prices in the face of large fluctuations in industry demand. In the absence of significant fluctuations in production costs, the profit margin was affected to a certain extent, but it is expected that the market share will further increase. With the future The recovery in industry demand is expected to benefit faster.
At present, the downstream demand of the laser industry is weak and the price war is fierce. According to statistics, the price of fiber lasers in the first quarter of this year dropped by nearly 40% year-on-year. Against this background, Raycus' operating income still maintained a 20% growth, and the company's "price-for-volume" strategy has achieved initial results. Considering that the sales price of products in the same period dropped by about 40% year-on-year, the actual shipment volume of Raycus laser products doubled year-on-year.
In addition, from the perspective of China's fiber laser market share, Raycus Laser's sales revenue in the third quarter of last year exceeded that of the international leading company IPG for the first time. By the end of 2021, the company's domestic market share is basically the same as IPG's domestic market share. In 2021, the company will achieve an operating income of 3.41 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 47.18%; a net profit of 474 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 60.17%.
Entering the field of high-power fiber lasers
In the medium and low power segment, domestic fiber lasers have gradually broken the monopoly of European and American giants, and gradually realized domestic substitution. At present, domestic companies are entering the high-power laser market. On the one hand, high-power fiber lasers are still dominated by foreign brands, with high added value in the field, and there is still a large room for domestic penetration, which is a blue ocean for future localization; The high-end manufacturing industry branch involves many key high-tech fields such as artificial intelligence, new energy vehicles, and chip manufacturing, with broad market prospects.
According to Raycus Laser's 2021 annual report, the company is actively deploying new businesses, especially in ultra-high power and new field products.
In 2021, the company's 30kW, 40kW, and 100kW ultra-high-power products have been officially sold. The annual sales of laser products above 10,000 watts exceeded 2,380 units, an increase of 243% compared with 2020; the sales of high-power lasers of 6,000W and above exceeded 5,900 units. A year-on-year increase of 175%.
In terms of localized replacement of high-end applications, Raycus took the lead in breaking the foreign technology monopoly in the field of ultra-high power lasers. Among them, many laser products such as beam adjustable series, shutter series, blue light and green light have been used in domestic new energy and Begin to use it in car manufacturers.
Increase R&D investment, reduce production cost and have core competitiveness
In terms of R&D investment and technological breakthroughs, in 2021, Raycus' annual R&D investment will reach 288 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 64.86%. A total of 23 new products have been released, covering welding, cutting, cladding, 3D printing and other fields, sheet metal processing, automobile manufacturing, rail transit, power batteries and other industries.
In the first quarter of 2022, the company's R&D investment was 69.865 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 139.30%, and the R&D ratio was as high as 9.96%. At the new product launch conference held in early April, Raycus launched 5 high-end new products of the banner. The products are mainly divided into three categories: high-performance continuous lasers for automobile manufacturing, shipbuilding, and aerospace, laser products for popular 3D printing applications in recent years, and ABP fiber lasers with shutters for new energy fields. Mode 300W MOPA pulsed fiber laser and high energy 1000W pulsed laser.
In addition, in terms of cost reduction and efficiency enhancement, Raycus Laser has completed the vertical integration of upstream industrial chains such as special optical fibers, optical fiber devices, semiconductor lasers, etc., and has the core capability of self-made upstream components to reduce costs; at the same time, the company's fiber laser research and development The ability has been greatly improved, and products with higher power and better performance can be independently developed. In the future, it is expected that the cost will continue to decrease in the large-scale production, and the product market competitiveness will be stronger. According to the relevant person in charge, the company is also strengthening cost control in an all-round way by optimizing the design process, automating construction, and establishing a supplier ecosystem. Facing the industry price war, the company has outstanding core competitiveness and long-term advantages.
