Financial Highlights
(Hong Kong, 20 March 2024) – Intron Technology Holdings Limited ("Intron Technology" or the "Group"; HKEX: 1760), a leading automotive electronics solutions provider in China, recorded a 20% growth in revenue year-on-year for the year ended 31 December 2023, which was mainly driven by growth of its new energy vehicle, automated & connected vehicle and safety systems segments. Revenue of the new energy vehicle segment climbed by more than 35% during the year, basically in line with market performance.
For the year ended 31 December 2023, total revenue of the Group increased by approximately 20% year-on-year to RMB5.8 billion. During the year, the Group's gross profit up 4% year-on-year to RMB1,084 million, representing a gross profit margin of 18.7%(2022: 21.5%). It was mainly because the Group moderately adjusting product prices to tide over the difficulties with upstream and downstream partners amid increasing competition among automotive makers posing general pressure on the gross profit margin in the entire industry. In 2023, the Group continued to seize market share, combating the challenges arising from fierce competition and rising interest rates. Profit attributable to shareholders of the company for the year amounted to RMB317 million, as compared to RMB415 million in the previous year. The Board has resolved to recommend payment of a final dividend of HK9.8 cents per share for 2023, keeping its dividend payout ratio at 30%.
Mr Davy Luk, Chairman, Co-CEO and Executive Director of Intron Technology, said, "Adhering to the Group's asset-light and research-focused development policy, we continued to increase R&D investment, especially in the field of new energy and automated & connected vehicles, and strengthen the Group's embedded software technology and optimize the electric powertrain control solution for vehicles to align with the technological development trend of electrification and intelligence in the entire automotive industry. The Group sought to consolidate its technological advantages and maintain its industry leadership during the year to capture long-term growth opportunities in the market."
The Group's new energy vehicle solutions business continued to gain strong support, further expanded its market share in automotive OEMs, which had brought in considerable revenue throughout the year, up by 35% to RMB2,787.6 million. The business accounted for 48.0% of the Group's total revenue for the year, up from 42.8% in 2022, and remained the main growth driver of the Group's business. Within this segment, there was a particularly significant growth in the battery management system (BMS) solutions, and a substantial growth in the motor control unit (MCU) solutions, while smart sensors and thermal management systems also recorded a marked increase in its application.
In 2023, the revenue from safety system solutions, including solutions for braking, steering and tire pressure monitoring applications, increased by 33% to RMB844.7 million, accounting for 14.6% of the Group's total revenue. The increase in revenue was attributable to the continuous increase in the market share of local components suppliers in China, and the Group benefited from more mass production solutions for new projects, which were eventually applied to new energy vehicles and conventional fuel vehicles. Both body control system and powertrain system solutions recorded steady growth, with revenue increasing by 8% and 3% year-on-year, respectively, accounting for 16.1% and 7.7% of the Group total, which was in line with the Group's expectations.
During the year, automated & connected vehicles solutions remained the growth driver of the Group's business, with revenue up by 59% to RMB404.7 million, accounting for 7.0% of the Group total for the year versus 5.3% in 2022. The satisfactory business performance was underpinned by the ability of the Group to accurately capture market opportunities in automated driving, intelligent driving and connected vehicles, as well as the increasing assembly rate of the Group's related solutions in new energy vehicles in the PRC and more projects acquired.
The Group's cloud server related solutions mainly include power management and electronic control solutions designed for high-performance CPUs and graphic processors used in data centers and cloud servers. During the year, mainly due to the industry downturn, revenue from such business declined by 52% to RMB201.8 million, accounting for 3.5% of the Group's total revenue, down from 8.7% in the previous year. The Group expects the business segment to recover gradually in 2024.
R&D is a core part of the Group's development strategy. In 2023, R&D expenses of the Group increased by 56% year-on-year to RMB520.2 million, increasing to 9.0% when expressed as a proportion of the Group's revenue. As at 31 December 2023, the Group had 1,081 full-time R&D-related professionals, making up 70% of its workforce. During the year, the Group owned 268 patents and 217 software copyrights, including 33 new patents and 30 additional software copyrights, respectively against the previous year.
On the R&D front, the Group follows the principle of "staying close to customer with multi-location R&D facilities" in recruiting more excellent talent and improving R&D strengths and brand service quality. In 2023, it established a R&D center in the Hong Kong Science Park dedicated to developing automated & connected vehicle software, advanced power semiconductor applications, and collaborative robot solutions. The center started operation officially in November 2023, preparing the Group for expanding business overseas as more Chinese automotive brands are going global. Setting up the R&D center in the Greater Bay Area is a strategic initiative of the Group not only to accelerate expansion into overseas markets, but also to build for itself an international talent team.
Mr Eddie Chan, Co-CEO and Executive Director of Intron Technology, said, "The Group persisted in investing constantly in technological research and development platform and industrialization platform to enhance the core competitiveness of the Group over the years. It will work with more partners in the industry ecosystem to promote the implementation of more forward-looking technologies and applications, and accelerate the intelligent process of the PRC automotive industry. Under the global trend of vehicle electrification, intelligence and connectivity, the Group remains cautiously optimistic about business growth. Focusing on electrification and intelligence to meet the needs of automotive OEMs, the Group will continue to invest in research and development, continuously improve the capabilities of its industrial service platform, and consolidate its leading position in the industry to achieve long-term sustainable growth and bring ideal returns to shareholders.”
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About Intron Technology Holdings Limited (英恒科技控股有限公司)
Intron Technology Holdings Limited is a leading automotive electronics solutions provider in China focuses on providing solutions targeting critical automotive electronic components applied in New Energy, Automated Driving, Connectivity, Body Control, Safety and Powertrain systems. The Group utilises its research and development and engineering capabilities to provide solutions incorporating advanced semiconductor devices to help OEMs achieve industry leading performance. Intron Technology has been included in the FTSE Global Equity Index Series ("GEIS").
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Email address: sprg_intron@sprg.com.hk
