《Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily》September 18th news (Reporter Qiu Siyu) Today (September 18th), Ricoh held the 2024 semi-annual earnings conference. At the meeting, the company's operating performance in the second half of the year, gross margin, and emerging businesses have attracted close attention from investors.

Regarding the operating situation in the third quarter, Ricoh's Chairman, Wu Shijun, revealed, "Comparing the third quarter orders to the second quarter, there is growth, and the overall trend is upwards." As for the gross margin in the third quarter, Wu Shijun added, "With the price of main raw materials falling, the continuous growth in revenue scale, and the strengthened control of various cost expenses, the company's cost pressure has been somewhat relieved, and the gross margin has rebounded slightly."

According to the financial report, in the first half of this year, Ricoh achieved a revenue of 0.958 billion yuan, an increase of 47.81% over the same period last year; achieved a net income attributable to the parent company of 64.9642 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 2.55%. The main reason for the revenue growth is the increase in revenue from new energy connectors in this reporting period. At the end of the reporting period, the company's operating gross profit margin was 22.81%, a decrease of 3 percentage points compared to the same period last year.

Ricoh's main business is the manufacturing of connector products, with applications including new energy automotive connection systems, energy storage connection systems, communication connection systems, industrial and other connection systems, and so on.

It is worth noting that the low-altitude economy is one of the more potential application scenarios for the connector industry. At this performance conference, Ricoh's Chairman Wu Shijun told the reporter of 《Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily》, "The company is currently progressing with the flying car project related to the low-altitude economy."

It is reported that Ricoh's current low-altitude economy main projects include high and low voltage connectors and wire harness components in the low-altitude aircraft. "The low-altitude economy has enormous market potential in the future, and the company will closely monitor this market area, and invest more R&D resources to develop more products to meet market and customer needs," Wu Shijun further stated.

Regarding the high-speed copper cable related products, Wu Shijun revealed to the reporter of 《Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily》that the company has a high-speed copper cable product solution for high-speed data transmission, and is currently communicating with customers about the product solution. It is understood that the AEC high-speed components are their key development products.

Regarding the overseas market, Wu Shijun stated, "The company's overseas factory business focuses on localized production and sales, providing nearby services to customers, unaffected by tariff policies, and will be more conducive to further expanding overseas business." The financial report shows that the company's "smart" connectivity system comprehensive solutions for overseas customers cover American company T, Daimler, Jeep, and New Meya and other car manufacturers.

Looking ahead to the second half of the year, Rikada stated that they will accelerate the construction of the second factory in Suzhou, as well as the production and delivery of overseas factories, increase investment in product research and development, and expand into new business areas.