Recently, optical library technology (300620. SZ) disclosed its 2023 annual report, during the reporting period, the company achieved a total operating income of 710 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10.5%, a net profit attributable to the parent company of 59.6361 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 49.38%, and a non-net profit of 39.4845 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 48.17%, and the net profit was nearly "cut in half".
For the situation that optical library technology has increased revenue but not profits, the company said that it is mainly affected by factors such as the complex macro business environment, the decline in the demand for optical communication, the insufficient demand of the industrial laser industry, and the increase in research and development expenses.
Titanium Media APP noticed that the decline in the net profit of optical library technology is also related to the government subsidy almost "cut in half". In 2023, the amount of government subsidies included in the company's current profit and loss will be 23.2051 million yuan, a decrease of 44% compared with 41.4104 million yuan in the same period of the previous year.
The gross profit margin declined, and more than 7 percent of the company's R&D personnel had a college degree or below
According to public information, optical library technology is an enterprise engaged in the design, research and development, production, sales and service of optical fiber devices, lithium niobate modulation devices and photonic integrated devices, the company's main products are fiber laser devices and optical communication devices, lithium niobate modulators and photonic integrated products.
In terms of a single quarter, the net profit attributable to the parent company of optical library technology in each period in 2023 will be 15.4997 million yuan, 16.2255 million yuan, 14.9634 million yuan, and 12.9475 million yuan respectively, with year-on-year changes of -32.46%, -53.6%, -53.34%, and -53.48% respectively, which shows that the company's net profit declined in the first quarter and continued until the end of the year.
In terms of subdivided products, fiber laser devices, the main revenue force of optical library technology, will achieve revenue of 427 million yuan in 2023, an increase of 24.25% year-on-year. However, the revenue of optical communication devices, lithium niobate modulators and photonic integration products all declined, with the revenue of the above two products being 204 million yuan and 44.6803 million yuan respectively, down 6.52% and 8.17% year-on-year respectively.
In terms of gross profit margin, in 2023, the gross profit margin of optical library technology will be 34.47%, a decrease of 2.55 percentage points from the previous year. Among them, the gross profit margin of fiber laser devices was 29.81%, down 4.6 percentage points year-on-year. It is worth noting that the gross profit margin of optical library technology has declined for many years. From 2020 to 2022, the company's gross profit margin will be 44.01%, 41.99%, and 37.02%, respectively.
For the reasons for the change of the above indicators, optical library technology said that the revenue growth of fiber laser devices benefited from the increase in orders and market share, but the price decline caused by fierce competition led to a decline in gross profit margin; the decline in revenue of optical communication devices was affected by demand fluctuations; and the decline in revenue of lithium niobate modulators was due to the fluctuation of demand from some customers.
In addition, in 2023, Optical Library Technology will increase its R&D investment in new products and new processes such as thin-film lithium niobate high-speed modulator chips and devices, and LiDAR light source modules for autonomous vehicles, and the R&D expenses in 2023 will increase by 23.9772 million yuan over the same period of the previous year, a year-on-year increase of 23.99%, which is also one of the factors affecting the decline in the company's net profit.
In fact, in recent years, the company's R&D expenses have been increasing year by year. From 2021 to 2023, the company's R&D expenses will be 77.3359 million yuan, 99.93 million yuan, and 124 million yuan respectively, a year-on-year increase of 56.59%, 29.22%, and 23.99%, respectively.
However, titanium media APP noticed that the company's R&D personnel are not highly educated. In 2023, there will be a total of 485 R&D personnel, including 120 with a bachelor's degree or above, accounting for 25% of the total number of R&D personnel. In other words, more than 7 percent of the company's R&D personnel have a college degree or below.
Continued to increase the size of the lidar field, the company acquired loss-making targets at a premium
In the 2023 annual report, the company mentioned that the field of lidar is one of the important development directions of the company in the future, and the company's current positioning in the relevant market is to provide one-stop component portfolio delivery capabilities and 1550nm emission light source integration solution experts.
In fact, in addition to increasing R&D investment in this field, Optical Library Technology also wants to enhance its competitiveness in the field of automotive lidar light source modules by acquiring companies in related fields.
On January 26 this year, Optical Library Technology announced that the company intends to acquire 52% of the shares of Shanghai Bai'an Industrial Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Bai'an Industrial) with its own funds of 156 million yuan. It is reported that Bai'an Industry is mainly engaged in the research and development, production and sales of optoelectronic products and lidar light source modules.
The performance commitment period of the acquisition is from 2024 to 2026, with target revenue of 160 million yuan, 200 million yuan and 250 million yuan respectively, and target non-net profit of 10 million yuan, 15 million yuan and 20 million yuan respectively.
According to the financial report data, from 2022 to January to July 2023, the operating income of Bai'an Industrial will be 53.53 million yuan and 26.61 million yuan respectively, and the net profit will be -12.84 million yuan and -11.27 million yuan respectively, and the target company will be in a state of loss. As of the end of July 2023, the total assets of Bai'an Industrial were 110 million yuan and the net assets were 26.23 million yuan.
Taking November 30, 2023 as the valuation base date, the value of all shareholders' equity of Bai'an Industrial is 303 million yuan, and the appraised value is 279 million yuan, with an appreciation rate of 1192.56%. On the basis of the above appraisal value, after consensus among all parties, it was determined that the 100% equity price of Bai'an Industrial was 300 million yuan, and the target equity price of this transaction was 156 million yuan. Based on the final transaction price, the acquisition still appreciates by 1,150%.
For this acquisition, Optical Library Technology also mentioned in its 2023 annual report that in 2024, the company will complete the acquisition of 52% of the shares of Bai'an Industrial and become the controlling shareholder, and Bai'an Industrial has a good solution in the automotive-grade 1550nm LiDAR light source module, which has great growth potential in the future, which can enhance the company's competitiveness in the field of vehicle-mounted LiDAR light source module and expand the company's strategic layout.
As for whether the target company will turn losses into profits by the end of 2023? In response to this problem, Titanium Media APP called Optical Library Technology, and the company said that the current industrial and commercial changes of the target company have not been completed, and the specific financial situation will not be displayed until the consolidated statements. (This article was first published in Titanium Media APP, author|Li Ruohan)