In the past four years, UbiTech has lost 3.9 billion yuan, and it continued to lose money in the first half of 2024. Looking to the future, UbiTech's "dream" is ambitious, but when will the company become profitable in reality is a concern for everyone. It seems unnecessary to shout for attention while losing money.

"UbiTech," the "first humanoid robot stock," has released its first half-year report since going public.

The data shows that UbiTech achieved revenue of 487 million yuan in the first half of the year, a significant increase of 86.6% compared to the same period last year. However, the company incurred a loss of 540 million yuan during this period. Clearly, UbiTech's losses exceeded its revenue.

It is noteworthy that although UbiTech is known as the "first humanoid robot stock," its humanoid robot business contributes less than 20% of its total revenue. Instead, its education smart robots and consumer smart robot solutions account for nearly 70% of its revenue.

Among the four main business segments, the revenue from logistics smart robots and solutions declined by 22.4% in the first half of the year, accounting for only 12.2% of total revenue, dragging down the company's performance to some extent.

Most importantly, UbiTech is still struggling with the issue of profitability. From 2020 to 2023, the company lost 707 million yuan, 918 million yuan, 987 million yuan, and 1.265 billion yuan, respectively, amounting to a cumulative loss of nearly 4 billion yuan over four years. In the first half of 2024, UbiTech continued to lose 540 million yuan.

However, the only comforting factor is that the loss has narrowed. The loss of 540 million yuan in the first half of the year accounted for 110.9% of revenue, down from 210% in the same period last year.

"Data Intelligence Research Society" found that although UbiTech Chairman Zhou Jian revealed during a conference call that the company had secured orders for nearly 2,000 humanoid robots for next year, he did not mention the profitability challenge.

In the capital market, UbiTech's share price surged in March 2024 after it was included in the Hang Seng Composite Index and Hang Seng Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect Greater Bay Area Index. However, less than six months later, the company's market value has evaporated by 92 billion Hong Kong dollars from its peak.

"The first humanoid robot stock" is a misnomer

On December 29, 2023, UbiTech listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, filling the gap in the capital market for humanoid robots and becoming the "first humanoid robot stock."

UbiTech's recently released 2024 half-year report shows that the company achieved revenue of 487 million yuan in the first half of the year, a significant increase of 86.6% year-on-year. The company attributed this growth to its strengthened business development, new product launches, and delivery of signed projects.

In terms of revenue composition, UbiTech's current business is primarily divided into four segments: consumer robots, educational smart robots, logistics smart robots, and customized smart robots for other industries along with related solutions. In the first half of 2024, these four segments contributed revenue of 175 million yuan, 161 million yuan, 60 million yuan, and 91 million yuan, respectively, accounting for 35.8%, 33.1%, 12.2%, and 18.7% of total revenue.

Specifically, consumer robots and educational smart robots contributed nearly 70% of UbiTech's revenue, making them core businesses. In contrast, the customized smart robots and solutions for other industries, which have often been in the spotlight as the "first humanoid robot stock," only contributed 18.7% of revenue in the first half of the year.

However, even this 18.7% revenue growth was achieved through a 309.5% year-on-year increase. This growth rate far exceeded the 113% and 105.5% year-on-year growth rates of educational smart robots and consumer robots, respectively.

The only underperformer was the logistics smart robot and solution business. After the release of the 2024 first-half results, the revenue contribution from this segment dropped sharply from 29.4% in the first half of 2023 to 12.2% in the same period of 2024. UbiTech attributed this decline to the fact that some projects would be delivered and accepted in the second half of 2024. "Data Intelligence Research Society" will continue to monitor changes in UbiTech's logistics smart robot business.

Regarding the customized smart robot business, Zhou Jian mentioned it several times during the earnings conference. "Humanoid robots are not yet very versatile, but over time, their learning ability may not require as much time as it takes to train a human," he said. Zhou also predicted that "the number of humanoid robots in the future will far exceed the human population, and each person may have more than one humanoid robot by their side."

The future looks bright, but the road ahead is full of challenges.

Struggling with profitability

UbiTech is still mired in losses.

From 2020 to 2023, UbiTech accumulated losses exceeding 3.9 billion yuan. In the first half of 2024, the company incurred another loss of 540 million yuan. Although the loss narrowed year-on-year, it still exceeded the revenue of 487 million yuan generated during the same period.

"Data Intelligence Research Society" found that behind UbiTech's 88.6% revenue growth, its costs also increased. In the first half of 2024, UbiTech's revenue cost was 302 million yuan, nearly a 50% increase from 202 million yuan in the same period last year. However, since the growth rate of operating costs was lower than that of revenue, UbiTech achieved a 214% increase in gross profit margin.

In addition to the increase in operating costs, UbiTech's various expenses also increased. Specifically, sales expenses increased by 25.9% year-on-year to 234 million yuan, and administrative expenses increased by 17.5% to 215 million yuan. Notably, UbiTech's research and development expenses increased by only 1.4%.

In the view of "Data Intelligence Research Society," UbiTech's strict control over research and development expenses reflects its hope for revenue growth through business expansion and project delivery. In the first half of the year, some government-related customers delayed payments for receivables, prompting UbiTech to accrue a credit impairment loss of 74 million yuan.

It is worth mentioning that despite its ongoing losses, UbiTech had cash and cash equivalents of 755 million yuan as of the end of the first half of the year, up from 520 million yuan at the end of last year. Currently, it appears that UbiTech's losses will continue, but the amount and time allowed for these losses are limited.

Meanwhile, "Data Intelligence Research Society" also noted that UbiTech surprisingly absented itself from the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in July. News of its absence quickly erased over 10 billion yuan from its market value. UbiTech did not provide a specific explanation for its absence but managed to avoid further misunderstandings by showcasing its humanoid robot industrial scenario solutions at the Global Robotics Conference held on August 21.