The year 2025 marked an explosion in the capital market wave for China's robotics industry. According to incomplete statistics, approximately 30 robotics industry chain-related companies rushed to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange throughout the year, covering the entire industrial chain including industrial robots, service robots, embodied intelligence, mobile robots, and core components. Among them, companies such as Geekplus-W (02590), SANHUA (02050), and Yunji (02670) have successfully listed in Hong Kong, while emerging players like Standard Robots, YouiBot, and SEER have also submitted listing applications, forming a significant clustering effect. Entering 2026, this capital market wave continues to surge. Robotics-related companies including Yifei Technology, Guangdong Topstar Technology Co.,Ltd. (300607.SZ), Joinet Robot, and CASIC have successively submitted applications, sprinting towards a Hong Kong listing. The latest addition to this cohort is Shanghai Junyi, which specializes in industrial automation, further strengthening the "robotics corps" lineup in Hong Kong.
Shanghai Junyi submitted its listing application to the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on January 23, with Guotai Haitong International acting as its sole sponsor. According to China Insights Consultancy, based on 2024 global revenue, Shanghai Junyi ranked 11th and 12th in China in the new energy battery module and PACK automated production line solutions market and the automotive welding automated production line solutions market, respectively. Furthermore, based on 2024 global revenue from NEV battery tray welding automated production line solutions, Shanghai Junyi ranked second among Chinese companies. This indicates that Shanghai Junyi has established a notable presence in its industrial niche.
In terms of financial performance, Shanghai Junyi has achieved steady growth. Its prospectus shows that for 2023 and 2024, the company's revenue was approximately RMB 511 million and RMB 614 million, respectively, with net profits of RMB 26.711 million and RMB 35 million during the same periods. For the first three quarters of 2025, Shanghai Junyi's revenue reached RMB 564 million, a year-on-year increase of 26.67%, while its net profit surged to RMB 58.172 million, up 88% year-on-year, indicating an accelerating growth trend. Given the high market enthusiasm for the robotics sector and Shanghai Junyi's impressive performance, can it secure a high valuation in its IPO? Clues may be found by examining the company's prospectus.
Shanghai Junyi's history dates back to 2009, when it began as an integrator of welding and laser inspection systems. The company built deep expertise in automated welding technology and precision manufacturing processes, establishing its business through body assembly and automotive component welding production lines, and forging solid customer relationships with leading automakers. As the automotive industry shifted towards electrification, Shanghai Junyi extended its welding technology to the production of battery trays for new energy vehicles. Through its battery tray welding business, the company developed close partnerships with power battery manufacturers, gradually gaining market recognition for its automation capabilities in the new energy sector.
Building on this foundation, Shanghai Junyi expanded its business to include new energy battery module and PACK automated production line solutions, addressing the growing demand from battery manufacturers for highly automated mid-to-back-end assembly solutions to ensure quality consistency, traceability, and production efficiency in mass production. Recently, Shanghai Junyi has further extended its new energy battery module and PACK automated production line solutions to serve energy storage battery manufacturers, beginning to record scaled revenue from energy storage battery production lines in the first three quarters of 2025. Currently, Shanghai Junyi's business primarily consists of two segments: new energy battery module and PACK automated production line solutions, serving power battery and energy storage battery manufacturers; and automotive welding automated production line solutions, including battery tray automated welding lines, automotive component automated welding lines, and body-in-white automated welding lines.
According to the prospectus, Shanghai Junyi's sustained growth is primarily driven by the rapid expansion of its new energy battery module and PACK automated production line solutions. In 2023, revenue from this segment was RMB 71.717 million, accounting for only 14% of total revenue. By 2024, however, revenue from this segment surged by 316.03% to nearly RMB 300 million, increasing its contribution to total revenue to 48.6%. By the first three quarters of 2025, this proportion had further risen to 64.3%. Clearly, the new energy battery module and PACK automated production line solutions have become the key driver of Shanghai Junyi's revenue growth.
The sustained rapid growth of this segment is largely attributable to the company capitalizing on opportunities within the new energy vehicle industry. As competition in the new energy vehicle sector intensified over the past two years, players across the supply chain adopted cost-reduction and efficiency-enhancement strategies. Battery manufacturers, in particular, accelerated the adoption of automated production lines to maintain price advantages, thereby boosting demand for Shanghai Junyi's products. This conclusion is supported by changes in the company's customer revenue mix. In 2024, revenue from the new energy vehicle sector accounted for 83.9% of total revenue, an increase of 21.5 percentage points year-on-year. By the first three quarters of 2025, this proportion had risen to 94%. Conversely, revenue from traditional internal combustion engine vehicles declined rapidly, falling from 22.8% in 2023 to 15.2% in 2024, and further to just 4.6% in the first three quarters of 2025.
It is worth noting that in 2024, revenue from Shanghai Junyi's automotive welding automated production line solutions segment was RMB 311 million, a decrease of approximately 25.95% year-on-year. The company attributed this decline primarily to a high base effect from the concentrated delivery of battery tray automated welding business in 2023, coupled with a strategic shift in focus towards new energy vehicle battery module and PACK production line solutions. By the first three quarters of 2025, this segment had returned to a growth trajectory. On the profit front, Shanghai Junyi's net profit growth has significantly outpaced its revenue growth, primarily due to economies of scale and the implementation of cost-saving and efficiency measures. In 2024, the net profit growth rate was 31.03%, nearly 11 percentage points higher than the revenue growth rate. This was mainly driven by a 1.7 percentage point increase in gross profit margin to 18.8%, and a reduction in the ratio of three major expense items (operating, selling, general & administrative) to total revenue from approximately 12.89% to 10.86%, a 2 percentage point decrease that accelerated profit realization.
In the first three quarters of 2025, the net profit growth rate surged to 88%, far exceeding the 26.67% revenue growth. This was largely due to the ratio of the three major expense items dropping to 9.32%, compared to 11.51% in the same period of 2024. Evidently, Shanghai Junyi's impressive performance stems from its correct development strategy. The company swiftly reallocated resources to focus on new energy battery module and PACK automated production lines, establishing them as the core growth engine. Coupled with the return to growth of its automotive welding automation solutions and the continued implementation of cost-efficiency measures, the company has achieved sustained and steady growth.
While Shanghai Junyi's strong performance is indeed a result of its correct strategic choices, it also relies heavily on a crucial prerequisite: the continuous expansion of its industry, which provides a solid foundation for its stable development. According to data from China Insights Consultancy, from 2019 to 2024, the global market size for new energy battery module and PACK automated production solutions grew from RMB 7.14 billion to RMB 23.29 billion, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 26.9%. During the same period, the global market size for automotive welding automated production line solutions increased from RMB 28.49 billion to RMB 53.13 billion, with a CAGR of 13.3%. This rapid industry growth has delivered significant developmental dividends to Shanghai Junyi.
Looking ahead, China Insights Consultancy projects that, driven by the rapid expansion of the new energy industry, continuous advancements in battery technology, stringent safety and quality standards, and sustained capital expenditure, the global market for new energy battery module and PACK automated production solutions is expected to grow from RMB 23.29 billion in 2024 to RMB 47.79 billion in 2029, representing a CAGR of 15.5%. Simultaneously, the global market for automotive welding automated production line solutions is expected to increase from RMB 53.13 billion in 2024 to RMB 82.48 billion in 2029, with a CAGR of 9.2%. Clearly, both sectors in which Shanghai Junyi operates are poised for continued rapid expansion in the coming years, from which the company will continue to benefit as the industry grows.
However, it is important to note that the slowing growth rate of the industry also signals increasingly intense competition, potentially steering the market towards a "red ocean" scenario. In fact, both the new energy battery module and PACK automated production solutions market and the automotive welding automated production line solutions market are characterized by fierce competition and a highly fragmented landscape. For instance, in the Chinese market for new energy battery module and PACK automated production solutions, based on 2024 global revenue, the top ten players held a combined market share of only 28.1%. Shanghai Junyi ranked 11th with a 1.3% market share. Among the top ten, while Company A led with a 5.6% market share, its lead was not substantial. The next three companies formed a second tier with identical market shares, closely challenging the leader, indicating that the top position is not yet secure. From the fifth to the eleventh positions, the revenue and market share differences among companies are minimal, creating a fiercely competitive "mid-tier cluster."
This structure suggests that in the current phase, where no disruptive technological or market differentiators have emerged, head-on competition among similarly sized companies is intense, making it difficult for any single player to easily pull ahead. This leads to significant homogenized competition, increasing the likelihood of price wars. As industry growth slows, competition within this mid-tier is expected to intensify further. A similar competitive landscape is observed in the automotive welding automated production line solutions industry. Against this industrial backdrop, the path to breaking out for mid-tier companies lies not in being "bigger and more comprehensive," but in achieving "deeper and sharper" differentiation—excelling in technology, market focus, cost efficiency, or ecosystem development to carve out a defensible niche within the seemingly rigid structure, transforming from a "follower" to an "indispensable partner."
However, judging by its R&D investment levels, Shanghai Junyi may face challenges if it aims to achieve a breakthrough through technological differentiation, as its R&D spending is relatively limited. According to the prospectus, in 2023 and 2024, Shanghai Junyi's R&D costs accounted for 6.11% and 5.28% of total revenue, respectively. In the first three quarters of 2025, this ratio fell further to 4.61%, down from 5.46% in the same period of 2023. Clearly, the already modest R&D investment is showing a distinct downward trend as a percentage of revenue, which does not bode well for building long-term technological competitive barriers.
Simultaneously, high customer concentration is another challenge Shanghai Junyi must confront directly. The prospectus reveals that in 2023, 2024, and the first three quarters of 2025, revenue from the top five customers accounted for 70.3%, 75.3%, and 68.7% of total revenue, respectively. Revenue from the single largest customer accounted for 28.6%, 28.2%, and 31.6% in the same periods. Excessive customer concentration significantly constrains Shanghai Junyi's bargaining power, risk resilience, and growth potential. Any changes in the procurement strategies or cooperative relationships of these key customers could directly impact the stability of Shanghai Junyi's revenue stream.
Furthermore, the ability to demonstrate potential in globalization will be another critical factor influencing Shanghai Junyi's valuation. The company states in its prospectus that it is committed to building a comprehensive overseas sales and service network to deepen its penetration in mature European and North American markets. However, judging by its geographically segmented revenue, there is a gap between its stated globalization strategy and the actual progress. From 2023 to the first three quarters of 2025, the proportion of Shanghai Junyi's revenue derived from mainland China increased year by year, reaching 53.1%, 66.9%, and 81.7%, respectively. This indicates that the contribution from overseas business has actually been contracting. If overseas market expansion fails to achieve substantial breakthroughs, and globalization does not become a "second growth curve" supporting long-term growth, then Shanghai Junyi's growth narrative will rely more heavily on the single driver of the domestic market, potentially constraining its valuation upside.
In summary, through its forward-looking focus on the new energy sector, Shanghai Junyi has successfully established its battery module and PACK automated production lines as a core growth engine. Supported by cost-reduction and efficiency measures, it has achieved simultaneous growth in both revenue and profit. However, behind this impressive performance lie multiple challenges that cast uncertainty over its future development. On one hand, the company needs to consolidate its position in a market characterized by slowing industry growth and intensifying homogenized competition, yet its R&D investment ratio is declining. On the other hand, excessively high customer concentration and a shrinking contribution from overseas markets present structural risks, testing the sustainability and resilience of the company's growth. Therefore, Shanghai Junyi's ability to effectively address these constraints while capitalizing on industrial opportunities will be crucial in determining whether it can achieve stable and long-term success.
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