Text |Jin Wei.
The first strand of humanoid robots is coming.
On December 29, UBTECH was listed on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange with an opening price of 899 Hong Kong dollars shares, slightly lower than the issue price of 90 Hong Kong dollars shares, the highest intraday rose to 91 yuan, as of **, UBTECH reported at 90HK$85, with a total market capitalization of 379600 million Hong Kong dollars, about 34.5 billion yuan.
UBTECH issued a total of 1,12820,000 shares, of which 5 were offered in the Hong Kong public offering16 times oversubscribed, 216x oversubscribed.
At the bell ringing ceremony, Zhou Jian, founder, chairman, executive director and CEO (CEO) of UBTECH, took the stage with two UBTECH humanoid robots to complete the bell ringing, one of which is UBTECH's new generation of industrial humanoid robot Walker.
It is understood that this is the first time in human history that a humanoid robot struck the gong for the launch ceremony, and it is also regarded as a milestone event in the accelerated commercialization process of global humanoid robots.
However, as an 11-year-old developer of intelligent humanoid robots, UBTECH has suffered a cumulative loss of 3.1 billion yuan in the past three and a half years, and the company is still facing many challenges such as commercialization and losses.
UBTECH was founded in 2012, and its main business is intelligent service robots and their solutions, including educational intelligent robots, logistics intelligent robots, health care intelligent robots, humanoid robots, general service robots, etc.
In the second half of 2012, UBTECH finally launched its first Alpha (ALFA) robot, mainly for entertainment. Subsequently, on the basis of consumer-grade humanoid robots, UBTECH launched educational intelligent robots and general service intelligent robots in 2017At the end of 2020, the logistics intelligent robot will be launched;In the second half of 2022, health care intelligent robots will be launched.
In the 2021 CCTV Spring Festival Gala, the robot "Pioneer Cow" developed by UBTECH was popular on the scene.
At present, UBTECH's customer base covers more than 50 countries and regions around the world, with more than 900 enterprise customers. From 2020 to the first half of 2023, UBTECH sold a total of more than 760,000 robots.
According to Frost & Sullivan, in 2022, UBTECH ranked third in China's intelligent service robot and intelligent service robot solution industry (in terms of revenue), with a market share of 28%；In 2022, the company is the largest provider of educational intelligent robots and intelligent robot solutions in China (in terms of revenue), with a market share of 225%。
Although it occupies a large market share in China, UBTECH is not yet profitable.
According to the financial report, in 2020, 2021, 2022 and the first half of 2023, UBTECH will achieve operating income of 74 billion yuan, 81.7 billion yuan, 100.8 billion and 26.1 billion yuan, a total of 28300 million yuan;The net loss for the same period was 70.7 billion yuan, 91.8 billion yuan, 9$8.7 billion and $54.8 billion yuan. In other words, in three and a half years, UBTECH has accumulated losses of more than 3.1 billion yuan.
In terms of gross profit margin, UBTECH has shown a downward trend in recent years, and from 2020 to 2022 and in the first half of this year, UBTECH's gross profit margin is respectively. 2% and 202%；Net cash flow used in operating activities for the same period was -60.3 billion yuan, -68.1 billion yuan, -54.3 billion yuan, and -52.7 billion yuan.
In terms of expenses, R&D, marketing, and administrative expenses account for a relatively large proportion. In the first half of this year, for example, the company's R&D, marketing and administrative expenses accounted for the proportion of total revenue. 7% and 68%.
Robots are technology-intensive industries, so R&D expenses are indispensable, and a considerable part of UBTECH's expenditure is invested in R&D. From 2020 to 2022, UBTECH's R&D expenditure totaled 13700 million yuan, if you add 22.4 billion, UBTECH's R&D expenses in three and a half years reached 1.6 billion.
According to the prospectus, in the first six months of 2020-2023, UBTECH's revenue from the top five customers was 49.3 billion yuan, 42.7 billion yuan, 72.1 billion yuan and 11.6 billion yuan, the proportion of revenue was respectively. 5% vs. 445%。UBTECH's revenue from the top five customers accounts for more than half, and there is a greater risk of customer dependence.
Although the company is not profitable, capital is optimistic about the robot track, and UBTECH is sought after by various capitals.
During the ten-year period from 2013 to 2022, UBTECH raised a total of about 47900 million yuan, investors include Qiming Venture Capital, CDH and other well-known venture capital institutions, and Tencent, iFLYTEK, Haier, CP Group and other leading enterprises, as well as Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Goldstone Investment, Minsheng ** and other financial groups.
However, UBTECH still needs bank loans to fund the company's business operations. According to the prospectus, from 2021 to June 30, 2023, UBTECH borrowed 30.7 billion yuan, 2$9.8 billion and $60.2 billion yuan. As of June 2023, UBTECH's total liabilities reached 201.4 billion.
Before the IPO, Zhou Jian directly held 2548%, indirectly controlling the company's share capital of about 358%。In addition, Qiming Venture Partners holds about 582%, CDH Investments holds about 173%, iFLYTEK holds about 022%。
In this IPO, UBTECH issued 112820,000 shares, issued in the range of HK$86 to HK$116 per share, with a lot of 50 shares, raising a maximum of about 13HK$0.9 billion.
UBTECH said that 47% of the net proceeds from the IPO will be used to further enhance R&D capabilities to strengthen the company's core technology and product services19.4% will be used to repay part of the bank loan;7.9% will be used for a sound R&D infrastructure;9.5% will be used to increase brand awareness and market penetration6.2% will be used to optimize management and operational efficiency10.0% will be used for working capital and other general corporate purposes.
Since the beginning of this year, AI large-scale model technology has promoted the development of humanoid robots, "embodied intelligence" and other technologies. Nvidia founder Jensen Huang said that the next wave of AI will be "embodied intelligence". Musk has also said that humanoid robots will be Tesla's main long-term value in the future**, and in the future, robots will be as popular as mobile phones. ”
According to the Sullivan report, UBTECH is one of the few market players in the global humanoid robot industry and has commercialized humanoid robots.
According to the prospectus, in 2021, UBTECH sold a life-size humanoid robot Walker-2 (for educational purposes), and in 2022, it sold a Walker, a Walker-1, Two Walker-2 and four WalkerX (half for educational purposes and half for general commercial purposes), and one Walker-2 will be sold in the first half of 2023, which means that a total of 10 Walker series have been sold since its launch, and the use is mainly focused on educational and commercial display and reception purposes, with limited commercial scenarios.
At present, China has also increased its support for the promotion of the humanoid robot industry. On October 20, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued the "Guiding Opinions on the Innovation and Development of Humanoid Robots", which proposed that by 2025, the Chinese humanoid robot innovation system will be initially established, and a number of key technologies such as "brain, cerebellum, and limbs" will make breakthroughs, and the whole machine products will reach the international advanced level and achieve mass production;By 2027, the technological innovation capability of humanoid robots will be significantly improved, and an internationally competitive industrial ecology will be built, and the comprehensive strength will reach the world's advanced level.
However, the humanoid robot industry is still facing large-scale commercialization problems, such as UBTECH is still in a loss-making state. But in Zhou Jian's view, it is only a matter of time before humanoid robots enter the home. "I think this work is still a long way to go, with the continuous advancement, I believe that in the future we will be able to find humanoid robot products suitable for entering the family C-end, UBTECH's goal is to develop and manufacture humanoid robots with world-class standards, and enter thousands of households. ”
Zhou Jian said in his listing speech, "At the beginning of its establishment, UBTECH adhered to the vision of bringing intelligent robots into thousands of households, and after more than 10 years, it has gradually developed into a leader in humanoid robots and a leading enterprise in intelligent service robots. Post-market. We will continue to fulfill our commitment to innovation and technology, continue to improve and enhance the full-stack technical capabilities of humanoid robots, and use innovative technology to serve to solve major social problems and meet the major needs of society, including people's livelihood. ”
What do you think about UBTECH, please leave a message below.