Source of this article: Times Finance Author: Zhang Xinying
Source: Tuworm Creative
Cambrian (688256.SH), a leading stock in AI chips, has recently attracted attention due to its soaring stock price.
On April 21, Cambrian issued an announcement of abnormal fluctuations in stock trading, saying that the company is not directly engaged in the development and sales of artificial intelligence final application products (such as ChatGPT-like applications), and "the company's related products are in the adaptation stage and have not yet generated revenue; Whether customers carry out large-scale procurement is affected by factors such as product technical capabilities, delivery capabilities, product prices and customers' willingness to purchase, and there is uncertainty. ”
In the capital market, Cambrian is the hot "sweet potato" in recent times. Affected by the frequent emergence of AI computing power, Cambrian's stock price has soared, and the current market value has exceeded the 100 billion mark. Since December 30, 2022, the stock price has risen from 55.60 yuan / share, the highest to a high of 271.47 yuan / share, a range increase of 298.92%.
However, Times Finance noticed that recently on the pulse of the workplace social platform, a number of employees claiming to be Cambrian broke the news that the company was laying off employees.
On April 21, a person close to Cambrian confirmed to Times Finance that the company's layoffs were true.
After several years of development, Cambrian has not been profitable so far. On April 21, a chip industry insider told Times Finance, "It is difficult for startups to make profits, and unprofitability is the source of layoffs, stop losses, and reduce costs." ”
As of the close on April 21, Cambrian fell 6.82% to 248 yuan per share, with a market value of 102.83 billion yuan.
R&D expenses far exceeded operating income
While the stock price soared, Cambrian's recent layoffs have also attracted attention in the industry.
On April 21, Times Finance contacted Lin Ping (pseudonym), a Shanghai employee who joined Cambrian in 2021, as a research and development personnel. According to the written information provided to Times Finance, the contract date signed between it and Cambrian began in 2021 for a period of three years, and after friendly negotiation between the two parties, it was confirmed that the labor contract would be terminated on May 19, 2023.
However, Lin Ping told Times Finance, "The company and the team had not given any notice before, and suddenly forced us to sign on April 19, saying that he left on his own initiative." ”
"There is no due compensation, no year-end bonus, no N+1, compensation is only given to N," Lin Ping said, "Different teams (project teams) are slightly different, (the proportion of layoffs) is basically 20% or even higher, and the team next door lays off 50%. ”
"Several of us in the group have been forced to leave, and some have just renewed their contracts have also been laid off." Lin Ping said.
In Lin Ping's view, this layoff was completely without any warning. "The year-end bonus is also gone, in previous years it was usually paid with the salary in April, and the first two weeks also said that it would be paid in May, and the result was a direct layoff." Lin Ping told Times Finance, "If you notify in advance, at least you are not so passive. ”
Lin Ping also said that Cambrian's previously promised stock had not been fulfilled on time. "The allotment amount stated in my entry contract has not been opened by the company until now, and in previous years, this will have already started internal purchase."
On April 21, Times Finance contacted the Cambrian Securities Department, and its staff responded that the company's official reply prevailed. Regarding Lin Ping's questions related to the year-end bonus and allotment, the above-mentioned people close to Cambrian said that they were "unaware".
On the same day, Cambrian HRD (public relations director) Wang Haibo (certified) also commented on the content of many Cambrian employees on the Pulse platform, saying, "After communication, one month's notice and N compensation will be given in accordance with the law, that is, N+1, and there is no 'no N+1'." He also said, "The company's performance cashing according to the performance appraisal results is a common and conventional management method, and it is also a management measure for the sustainable and healthy development of the enterprise." It is not a violation of the labor law to negotiate the termination of the labor contract and give N+1 compensation according to the performance appraisal results. ”
Screenshot source: Pulse
As a "money-burning" technology company, Cambrian's R&D investment in recent years has far exceeded its operating income. Financial report data shows that in 2020 and 2021, Cambrian's R&D expenses reached 768 million yuan and 1.136 billion yuan respectively, while the operating income in the same period was 459 million yuan and 721 million yuan.
In terms of R&D personnel, in 2020, 2021 and the first half of 2022, the number of R&D personnel of the company was 978, 1213 and 1207 respectively. In 2021, the average salary of the company's R&D personnel will be 608,800 yuan, an increase of 34.48% year-on-year.
It is worth noting that not only Chairman Chen Tianshi is a top chip expert from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, but Cambrian's technical team is also "hardcore". According to the 2021 financial report, more than 80% of the company's employees are R&D personnel, of which 77% have master's degrees or above, "most of the core R&D personnel graduated from famous universities or research institutes, and many key members have many years of work experience in well-known semiconductor companies." Cambrian said.
In 2021, the average salary of the company's R&D personnel will be 608,800 yuan, an increase of 34.48% year-on-year.
Cambrian has not been profitable since going public. Its performance express report shows that the company will achieve operating income of 729 million yuan in 2022, a year-on-year increase of 1.11%; The net profit loss was 1.166 billion yuan, and the loss increased by 41.40% year-on-year.
As for the reasons for the loss, the company said that it was mainly due to the continuous large amount of R&D investment involved in complex computing chips, and the expenses of R&D personnel salary, tape-out expenses, depreciation and amortization of R&D equipment and IP increased significantly compared with the same period of the previous year.
"(The chip) can't be shipped if the film can't be streamed, and if there is nothing to sell, it may still have an impact." On April 21, a chip industry insider told Times Finance, "Cambrian originally recruited many employees from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the University of Science and Technology of China, but in fact, it has begun to reduce recruitment needs since the previous year." ”
The institutions participating in the fixed increase made a big profit of 1.75 billion
Times Finance noted that on April 13, Cambrian's fixed increase of 1.672 billion yuan was finally announced, and the amount of funds raised (including IPO and private placement) since the company's listing has exceeded 4 billion.
From the perspective of participating institutions, Cambrian's fixed increase in issuance targets was finally determined to be 18, including Caitong Fund, CICC, Guotai Junan, Furong Fund, Galaxy Capital and other well-known institutions. Among them, the largest allocation amount was Caitong Fund, which reached 201 million yuan.
Benefiting from the rising share price, the institutions participating in this private placement may have achieved substantial profits. As of the close on April 21, Cambrian closed at 248 yuan / share, which is more than double the floating profit compared with the fixed increase price of 121.10 yuan / share. The above-mentioned 18 institutions participating in the private placement have made a total profit of 1.75 billion yuan.
In addition to the fixed increase institution, Cambrian's shareholder iFLYTEK (002230. SZ）。
According to iFLYTEK's 2023 quarterly report, although the company lost nearly 58 million yuan in the first quarter, it earned 134 million yuan in investment income due to the sale of Sanrenxing and Cambrian stocks, an increase of 1861.22% over the same period of the previous year. In 2022, iFLYTEK lost RMB582 million due to its holdings in financial assets such as Cambrian, Sanren Bank, and SenseTime.
Flush data shows that iFLYTEK, which originally held 1.77% of the shares, reduced its holdings in Cambrian in the third quarter of 2022 and has now withdrawn from its list of top ten shareholders.
In addition, Nanjing CMB and Hubei CMB, shareholders of the "CMB Group" that acquired shares before the Cambrian IPO, also planned to reduce their holdings of 3.1146 million shares and 1.5395 million shares in February this year, and if the closing price on April 21 is used, the two entities have cashed out a total of about 1.154 billion yuan.