① The consumer electronics industry has shown a clear trend of recovery in terminal demand, and Lens Technology's net profit in the first half of the year increased by more than 50%. ② With continuous innovation by major smartphone brands in AI smartphones, a new round of replacement cycle is expected to come, and companies in the industry chain are expected to benefit.
On August 25th, Caixin News Agency reported that the recovery trend of terminal demand in the consumer electronics industry is obvious, and Lens Technology (300433.SZ) has achieved a growth rate of over 50% in the first half of the year.
Today, Lens Technology disclosed its financial report for the first half of 2024. The company achieved operating income of 28.867 billion yuan in the first half of the year, a year-on-year increase of 43.07%; and achieved a net income of 0.861 billion yuan attributable to the parent company, a year-on-year increase of 55.38%.
In its semi-annual report, Lens Technology stated that during the reporting period, the company accelerated the vertical integration of the industry chain, developed and mass-produced intelligent smartphones, payment terminals, PCs and other smart devices in an ODM or OEM mode, which drove the company's sales scale growth and promoted market share increase in structural components and modules.
The financial report shows that Lens Technology's revenue from the smartphone and computer business segment in the first half of this year increased by 48.87% compared to the same period last year, and the gross margin is basically flat compared to the same period last year. The company revealed that it has established long-term and in-depth strategic cooperation relationships with domestic and international top consumer electronics brands, and has the ability to quickly develop and mass produce high-end smartphones using new materials such as glass, metal, sapphires, ceramics, plastics, carbon fibers, and leather.
As a cyclical industry, the consumer electronics industry has been recovering and growing since the second half of 2023 and is now in a phase of continuous recovery and growth. According to IDC data, the global smartphone shipment volume in the second quarter of 2024 increased by 6.5% compared to the same period last year, reaching 0.2854 billion units, showing a trend of continuous growth for four consecutive quarters.
According to statistics, many companies in the consumer electronics industry chain have significantly improved their performance in the mid-year report of this year. For example, Luxshare Precision (002475.SZ) and Goertek Inc. (002241.SZ) have both disclosed their financial reports. Among them, Luxshare Precision's net profit in the first half of the year increased by 23.89% year-on-year, and the company also expects that its net profit in the third quarter will increase by 14.39% to 26.61%. Luxshare Precision believes that the development of AI technology has accelerated the innovation of consumer electronics terminals, the development of data centers towards higher computing power, and the accelerated market and capacity layout of global smart automobiles; the company's consumer electronics, communications, and automotive businesses have greater growth potentials. Goertek Inc.'s net profit in the first half of the year increased by 190% year-on-year.
With continuous innovation by major smartphone brands in AI smartphones, a new round of replacement cycle is expected to come. According to the latest forecast by Omdia, the total shipment of AI smartphones in 2024 is expected to be 0.119 billion units, accounting for 10% of the total shipments. According to industry insiders, major consumer electronics manufacturers will release new products in September, including Apple, Meta, Huawei, and other major consumer electronics manufacturers. AI will be first implemented in mature consumer electronics products, such as smartphones, driving the increase in quantity and price of related products, and companies in the industry chain are expected to benefit.
It is understood that lens technology has built a one-stop service platform with capabilities from raw materials to components, modules, and complete machine assembly. Earlier, lens technology expressed that the company will strengthen the development of new fields and new businesses, actively embrace the industrial trend of smart terminal products upgrading to AI, vigorously develop new customers and new products in the AI field, improve the company's existing production capacity utilization, and further enrich the product structure.
According to the data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, the sales volume of automobiles in the first half of 2024 reached 14.047 million units, a year-on-year increase of 6.1%. The sales volume of new energy vehicles reached 4.944 million units, a year-on-year increase of 32%. Benefiting from the sustained high prosperity of the new energy vehicle industry, lens technology's smart automobile and smart cockpit business sectors achieved a year-on-year revenue growth of 19.01% in the first half of this year.
Currently, lens technology is engaged in long-term strategic cooperation with major automobile customers in the development and production of smart cockpit, central control screens, instrument panels, display screens, B-pillars, C-pillars, charging stations, and structural components for power batteries. At the same time, it cooperates with customers to innovate and optimize new large-sized automotive glass products such as side windows, windshields, and sunroofs.