Major changes have taken place in the vehicle lighting industry, and the situation at Keboda, a lighting control company, is not particularly ideal either.

Revenue in the first three quarters of 2026 was 4.683 billion yuan, down 6.30% year on year, and net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company was 424 million yuan, down 34.36% year on year.

Net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company in the third quarter alone was 115 million yuan, down 47.17% year on year.

Lighting control revenue was 1.841 billion yuan, down 20.64% year on year;

Revenue from central computing platforms and intelligent driving domain controllers was 732 million yuan, up 72.29% year on year.

Part 1: Lighting Control Falls by 479 Million Yuan; Domain Controller Revenue Reaches 307 Million Yuan

In the first three quarters, main business revenue from auto parts was 4.468 billion yuan, down 7.64% year on year.

◎ Lighting control systems: 1.841 billion yuan

◎ Motor control: 865 million yuan

◎ Energy management: 410 million yuan

◎ Automotive electronics and electrical appliances: 543 million yuan

◎ Central computing platforms and intelligent driving domain controllers: 732 million yuan

◎ Other auto parts: 78 million yuan

Among the six segments, only two grew.

◎ Lighting control fell 20.64%, about 479 million yuan less year on year;

◎ Central computing platforms and intelligent driving domain controllers grew 72.29%, about 307 million yuan more.

After offsetting the two, there is still a gap of about 172 million yuan.

◎ Energy management fell 22.04%.

◎ Automotive electronics and electrical appliances fell 21.79%.

◎ Other auto parts fell 25.56%.

◎ Motor control grew against the trend by 12.51%.

The comprehensive gross margin in the first three quarters was about 23.92%, compared with about 25.70% in the same period last year, a decrease of about 1.78 percentage points.

Revenue from the top five end customers accounted for 51.78% of total revenue, namely Volkswagen Group, NIO, FAW Group, Cummins and Li Auto. Volkswagen Group accounted for about 34.9%, and NIO more than 10%. Chinese new energy vehicle customers such as NIO are accelerating the layout of central computing and zone controllers.

The Czech plant has passed system audits by multiple European OEMs and obtained supply access. Key projects are in capacity ramp-up, and a new generation of products and domain controller projects are advancing verification.

Part 2: R&D Expenses of 427 Million Yuan; Operating Cash Flow Down to Only 148 Million Yuan

◎ Third-quarter revenue was 1.601 billion yuan, down 7.59% year on year, and net profit after deducting non-recurring gains and losses was 103 million yuan, down 50.29% year on year. The profit decline also came from lower main business revenue, exchange losses caused by foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations, and a year-on-year decrease in investment income from associates.

◎ R&D expenses in the first three quarters were 427 million yuan, compared with 402 million yuan in the same period last year, an increase of about 6.3% year on year. The R&D expense ratio rose from 8.05% to 9.13%. Investment focuses on central computing platforms, intelligent driving domain controllers, body domain controllers and smart power supplies.

Newly awarded nominated projects are expected to have a lifetime sales value of more than 10 billion yuan, covering central computing platforms and intelligent driving domain controllers, lighting control, body domain controllers and smart power supplies.

Domain controller products have been developed based on platforms such as Qualcomm, Horizon Robotics, Xinxin Hangtu and Shenji. Related products from Qualcomm, Horizon Robotics and Shenji have entered mass production, while related products from Xinxin Hangtu are still in pre-mass-production verification.

In the first half of the year, sales revenue from central computing platforms and intelligent driving domain controllers exceeded 400 million yuan, and in the first three quarters it was 732 million yuan.

Keboda needs to build multiple computing power platforms for different OEMs, and the costs of parallel verification and software and hardware engineering rise accordingly.

Net cash flow from operating activities in the first three quarters was 148 million yuan, compared with 706 million yuan in the same period last year, down 79.10%, while net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company in the same period was 424 million yuan. Cash paid for stocking and purchasing goods increased, and the money is first tied up in inventory.

Mass production of domain controllers and new electronic control projects requires advance procurement of computing platforms, PCBs, power devices and supporting materials, while customer certification, mass production ramp-up and settlement periods come later.

Summary

Keboda is highly tied to Volkswagen and FAW Group, and the pressure is somewhat high.

Although it has obtained mass production orders for domain controllers, the R&D expense ratio rose from 8.05% to 9.13%, and operating cash flow fell from 706 million yuan to 148 million yuan. The money for R&D and stocking has all been paid out. Of course, we may need to continue to observe what to do next.