– Share offer of 40,000,000 H shares at between HK$18.80 and HK$20.80 per share
– expected to raise net proceeds of approximately HK$719.6 million
Investment Highlights
– Player at the Frontline of the Booming Cobot Industry
– Robust Research and Development Capabilities Guided by a Long-termist Mindset
– Proprietary Full-stack Technologies Covering All the Key Aspects in the Cobot Development Cycle
– Comprehensive Product Matrix Catering to a Wide Array of Use Cases
– Successful Commercialization Underscored by Global Footprint and Clientele
– Visionary and Experienced Management Team
SHENZHEN DOBOT CORP LTD (DOBOT or the Company, together with its subsidiaries, collectively referred as the Group) has recently announced the details of the proposed listing of its shares on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (HKEx) (the Share Offer).
DOBOT plans to offer a total of 40,000,000 shares, subject to over-allotment option, comprising 2,000,000 Public Offer Shares and 38,000,000 Placing Shares, at an Offer Price range between HK$18.80 and HK$20.80 per Offer Share. The Public Offer opened at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, December 13 and close at 12:00 noon on Wednesday,December 18. The allotment results will be announced on Friday, December 20. Dealings in H shares on HKEx are expected to commence on Monday, December 23, under the stock code 2432.HK.
Guotai Junan Capital Limited and ABCI Capital Limited are the Joint Sponsors. Joint Bookrunners are Guotai Junan Securities (Hong Kong) Limited, ABCI Capital Limited, China PA Securities (Hong Kong) Company Limited,Shenwan Hongyuan Securities (H.K.) Limited and TradeGo Markets Limited.
Company Overview
DOBOT is one of leading companies that specializes in the development, manufacturing and commercialization of collaborative robots, or commonly known as“cobots.” DOBOT is a top 2 player in the global cobot industry and the No.1 player among all Chinese cobot companies, with a global market share of 13.0% as measured by shipment volume in 2023, according to the CIC Report. The global cobot industry is at a nascent stage of development, whose market size accounted for less than 2% of the global robot industry in terms of revenue in 2023. According to the same source, the Group ranked seventh in the global cobot industry with a global market share of 3.6% in terms of global revenue generated from cobots in 2023.
The Group is focusing on industry innovation, particularly in cobot safety measures and AI capabilities, by introducing the flexible e-skin technology, SafeSkin, and launching AI-empowered cobots underpinned by its AI cobot empowering platform, X-Trainer. As of 6 December 2024, the Group offered a total of 27 cobot models in four series, catering to numerous use cases in manufacturing, retail, healthcare, STEAM education, scientific research settings and many more. During the Track Record Period, the Group sold a total of over 53,000 cobots globally.
Business Model and Market Outlook
Cobots are robots with operational robotic arms intended for direct human-robot interaction or collaboration within a shared space or where humans and robots are operating in proximity. DOBOT is primarily engaged in the design,development, manufacturing and commercialization of cobots. Its cobot products are adopted by global customers for various use cases in manufacturing, retail, healthcare, STEAM education, scientific research settings and many more. All of the cobot products are designated Specialist Technology Products. The Group adopted a transaction[1] based model for the sales of the cobot products.
The global cobot market size has grown significantly from US$466.6 million in 2019 to US$1,039.5 million in 2023,at a CAGR of 22.2%, and is expected to reach US$4,950.0 million by 2028, at a CAGR of 36.6% from 2023 to 2028.In particular, China is playing an increasingly important role in the global cobot market, with its share in the global cobot market projected to increase from 26.3% in 2023 to 37.2% in 2028, at a CAGR of 46.5% from 2023 to 2028.The proliferation of AI technologies is expected to further accelerate the adoption of cobots in more use cases. The Group believes DOBOT is well positioned to capture the substantial market opportunity.
Financial Highlights
The total revenue of the Group was approximately RMB174.3 million, RMB241.0 million, RMB286.7 million for FY2021, FY2022, FY2023, respectively, at a CAGR of 28.3% and increased by 9.6% from RMB109.9 million in the six months ended June 30, 2023 to RMB120.5 million in the six months ended June 30, 2024. The Group’s export volume of cobots has consistently ranked first in China for six consecutive years, according to the CIC Report.
The Group recorded gross profit of RMB88.1 million, RMB98.2 million, RMB124.8 million, and RMB52.8 million in 2021, 2022, 2023 and the six months ended June 30, 2024, respectively. The gross profit margin in 2021, 2022 and 2023 was 50.5%, 40.8%, 43.5% and 43.9%, significantly above the industry average. The outstanding margin profile is largely attributable to the global distribution network and an international clientele. In 2021, 2022, 2023 and the six months ended June 30, 2024, overseas markets contributed 48.1%, 58.1%, 59.1% and 61.4% of the total revenue, respectively. The cost advantages also stem from the proprietary development of key components and in-house design and development of key components as well as economies of scale as demands for the products continue to grow, coupled with the ongoing ramp-up of the production base in Rizhao, Shandong. Being a major port city, Rizhao’s proximity to the port significantly reduces transportation costs, facilitating efficient global export of the products. The favorable margin profile not only improves the financial performance but also affords us more flexibility in marketing strategy tailored to an increasingly competitive landscape.
In 2021, 2022 and 2023, the Group had losses for the year of RMB41.8 million, RMB52.5 million and RMB103.3 million, respectively, and in the six months ended June 30, 2023 and 2024, the Group had losses for the period of RMB51.7 million and RMB59.9 million, respectively. This mainly attributes to the fact that the Group is in the stage of expanding the Group’s business and operations in the rapidly growing cobot market and are continuously investing in research and development.
Competitive Strengths
As one of the leading companies in the cobot industry, the Group believes that its success is attributable to the following competitive strengths: Firstly, DOBOT is one of the leading players at the frontline of the booming cobot industry, which has been recognized by world-renowned customers for its outstanding technical capabilities and product strength, and has led to a number of advance technological innovations, especially in cobot safety measures and AI capabilities. At the same time, the Group adheres to the long-termist mindset and guides its product R&D, and the Group’s research and development initiatives are geared towards sustainable growth and enduring impact. Leveraging its interdisciplinary research and development capabilities, the Group has become one of few in the global cobot industry, according to the CIC Report, that have developed proprietary full-stack technologies that cover all the key aspects in the cobot development cycle. In addition, the Group has a comprehensive product matrix catering to a wide array of use cases; More importantly, under the leadership of its experienced management team, the Group continues to expand its market share through the successful commercialization of its global business and customers.
Growth Strategies
In future, the Group pursues the following strategies to further grow the business: (1) continue to advance technology development, including further investing in the research and development of proprietary key components of cobots, investing in the research and development of AI technologies, further improving its motion control algorithms, and building a full-perception technology architecture to expand the perception and interaction capabilities of our cobots and continue to enhance the safety measures in human-robot collaboration to meet the requirements in various use cases; (2) continue to expand the Group’s product offering and ecosystem to maintain its competitive edge in comprehensive product offerings by further upgrading existing products and launching new products; (3) enhance production capabilities and capacity to streamline supply chain management by introducing advanced manufacturing technologies and equipment to the production lines; (4) further fortify the Group’s sales network to expand global reach. The Group plans to establish three overseas subsidiaries in Thailand, Mexico and United Arab Emirates to seize the business opportunities; and (5) selectively pursue strategic collaboration, investment and acquisition opportunities to integrate industry resources that may help the Group acquires new technologies, expand sales channels and tap into new industries where most of potential customers have their designated cobot integrators or suppliers.
Mr. Liu Peichao, Founder, Controlling Shareholder, Chairman of the Group’s Board, executive Director and general manager of DOBOT concluded, “We are pleased to witness this significant milestone in the Group’s history.Through the Group’s listing on the Main Board of HKEx, we will tap into the international capital markets. This will not only broaden the Group’s capital and shareholder base, but will also provide us with capital to fund the Group’s expansion plan, which will finally strengthen the Group’s position in the industry and further enhance the Group’s competitive advantages, thereby driving the Group’s long-term development.”
“Looking ahead, we are committed to further developing and consolidating the Group’s position in the collaborative robotics industry. The growth rate of the global collaborative robot industry will far exceed the growth rate of the traditional industrial robot industry. It is expected that the popularization of AI technology will further accelerate the adoption of cobots in more use cases. With considerable growth and the Group’s own full-stack technology, we look forward to capturing the global cobot market opportunity to maintain our leading position in the industry and create greater value for the shareholders.”
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