AMEC Visual China Infographic

On the evening of January 14, China Micro Corporation (688012) disclosed its 2024 results, which is expected to have an operating income of about 9.065 billion yuan in 2024, a year-on-year increase of about 44.73% over 2023. It is estimated that the net profit attributable to the parent company in 2024 will be 1.5 billion yuan to 1.7 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of about 16.01% to 4.81%. It is estimated that the non-net profit deducted in 2024 will be 1.28 billion yuan to 1.43 billion yuan, an increase of about 7.43% to 20.02% year-on-year.

As for the reasons for the growth of revenue, AMEC said that its main products, etching equipment and thin film equipment, are the key core equipment of the semiconductor front, with a broad market space and high technical barriers. The company's etching equipment and thin film equipment continue to be recognized by many customers, and the new shipments and sales of high-end products targeting key processes in chip manufacturing have increased significantly.

According to the announcement, the annual sales of etching equipment were about 7.276 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of about 54.71%; MOCVD equipment sales were about 379 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of about 18.11%; LPCVD film equipment will achieve the first sales in 2024, and the annual equipment sales will be about 156 million yuan.

In 2024, AMEC's revenue will increase highly, but its net profit will not grow at the same time, mainly due to the fact that AMEC's R&D investment has increased more.

AMEC explained that according to market and customer needs, the company has significantly increased its R&D efforts, and the current research projects cover six types of equipment and the development of more than 20 new equipment. In 2024, the company's R&D investment will be 2.450 billion yuan, an increase of 1.188 billion yuan (an increase of about 94.13%) over 2023, and the proportion of R&D investment in the company's operating income will be about 27.03%.

AMEC said that the company has achieved remarkable results in the development of new products. In the past two years, the newly developed LPCVD film equipment and ALD film equipment have entered the market with a number of new equipment products and received repeated orders. Among them, the cumulative shipment of LPCVD film equipment has exceeded 100 reaction tables

A number of other key thin film deposition equipment R&D projects are progressing smoothly; The company's EPI equipment has successfully entered the stage of mass production verification of the client. The company has made good progress in the development of MOCVD devices in the field of Micro-LED and high-end displays, and is actively deploying the market for silicon carbide and gallium nitride-based power device applications.

In addition, the announcement said that AMEC's production and R&D base of about 140,000 square meters in Nanchang and about 180,000 square meters of production and R&D base in Lingang, Shanghai have been put into use, supporting the rapid growth of the company's product delivery and sales. At the same time, the company's production and operation management level has been continuously improved, and the control ability of product costs and operating expenses has been effectively enhanced. The company continues to develop key component suppliers, promotes the stability and safety of the supply chain, maintains a high level of equipment delivery rate, and provides strong support for the company's sales growth due to the timely delivery of equipment.

Another reason for the decline in net profit is that in 2023, AMEC sold part of the shares of Tuojing Technology Co., Ltd., generating a net income after tax of about 406 million yuan, while the company did not have such equity disposal gains in 2024.

At the close of trading on January 14, the company reported 188.45 yuan, an increase of 5.3%.