Shanghai Securities News | Nearly 60% of STAR Market Companies See Net Profit Growth in First Three Quarters, Total R&D Investment Exceeds RMB 113.3 Billion

Source: Shanghai Securities News · www.cnstock.com

Author: He Xinyi

Shanghai Securities News · www.cnstock.com (Reporter He Xinyi) - Data shows that STAR Market companies maintained steady development in the first three quarters of this year. Except for 4 multiple-listed red-chip companies such as SMIC (Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation) which are expected to disclose their third-quarter reports in November, the remaining 588 STAR Market-listed companies achieved a total operating revenue of RMB 1.01 trillion, a year-on-year increase of 6.6%, maintaining consecutive growth since the market's launch. Over 70% of the companies achieved revenue growth, among which 68 companies had a growth rate exceeding 50%; nearly 60% of the companies achieved net profit growth, among which 156 companies had a growth rate exceeding 50% and 45 companies turned from losses to profits. If 4 photovoltaic companies are excluded, the overall operating revenue and net profit of STAR Market companies in the first three quarters increased by 13.51% and 17.06% year-on-year respectively, achieving dual growth.

Emerging industries have become the pillar of performance. Among them, the integrated circuit industry maintained a high prosperity. Except for SMIC and Huahong Semiconductor, 119 STAR Market integrated circuit companies that have disclosed their third-quarter reports achieved a total operating revenue of RMB 192.805 billion and net profit of RMB 17.371 billion in the first three quarters, increasing by 27% and 83% year-on-year respectively. The net profit of STAR Market chip design and semiconductor equipment companies in the first three quarters increased by 141% and 27% year-on-year respectively. New products of equipment companies such as AMEC (Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment Inc. China) and Piotech were continuously introduced to customers, and the development level of full-chain localization steadily improved.

The AI industry accelerated penetration, and domestic computing power gained market recognition. In the first three quarters, Cambricon's revenue increased by 24 times, and Hygon Information's revenue increased by 55%. The memory industry chain entered a key node of the "super cycle", driving the company's performance for the better. Biwin Storage's net profit attributable to shareholders in the third quarter increased by 10 times month-on-month, and Puya Semiconductor's revenue and shipment volume increased steadily month-on-month in the third quarter.

The biopharmaceutical sector continued to recover, with innovative pharmaceutical companies frequently launching blockbuster products and accelerating overseas expansion. In the first three quarters, STAR Market innovative pharmaceutical companies promoted 9 Category-1 new drugs to obtain approval for listing from the National Medical Products Administration, completed 16 overseas BD transactions with a total potential transaction value exceeding 13 billion US dollars, and the commercialization process was significantly accelerated.

Multiple segments of high-end equipment manufacturing recovered. In the first three quarters, the net profit of STAR Market aerospace, intelligent testing and intelligent manufacturing companies increased by 27%, 39% and 28% year-on-year respectively. Efforts to reduce over-competition in the photovoltaic industry continued. The average price of products in some segments rebounded. In the third quarter, the overall losses of STAR Market photovoltaic companies narrowed by 28% quarter-on-quarter, and silicon-material producer Daqo New Energy turned from losses to profits. The net profit of the energy storage segment achieved both year-on-year and month-on-month growth. Four companies including HyperStrong and Paineng Technology recorded combined net profit growth of 43% year-on-year in the first three quarters, and combined net profit increased 8% quarter-on-quarter in the third quarter. Technology-driven consumption upgrades continued:Ninebot built a differentiated barrier with high-performance intelligent short-distance transportation products, and the increased proportion of electric motorcycle sales drove its net profit to increase by 84% year-on-year in the first three quarters.

In terms of R&D, the total R&D investment of STAR Market companies reached RMB 113.345 billion, up 9.01% year-on-year, and the median R&D intensity reached 12.44%, continuing to significantly lead all A-share sectors. Breakthrough progress was made in multiple fields. Health & Biotech's independently developed recombinant human serum albumin injection (rice-derived) was approved for marketing, becoming the world's first Category-1 innovative drug of "rice bioreactors"; QuantumCTek achieved the mass production of the world's first four-channel ultra-low noise semiconductor single-photon detector, with key indicators refreshing the world record;United Imaging Healthcare's self-developed uCT Ultima, China's first photon-counting spectral CT, was officially approved for marketing, becoming the third company in the world and the first in China to successfully commercialize photon-counting CT; AMEC's dielectric etching equipment with an ultra-high aspect ratio of 60:1 has become a standard domestic configuration, with mass production metrics steadily improving. The next-generation dielectric etcher with a 90:1 aspect ratio is about to enter the market, providing robust technical and equipment support for China's memory-device manufacturing.