Financial Overview
Total revenue for the first three quarters was approximately 1.13 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 91.5%, exceeding the full-year revenue in 2023.
Total sales of lidar in the first three quarters reached 381,900 units, a year-on-year increase of 259.6%; among them, the sales volume of lidar products for ADAS applications was 365,800 units, a year-on-year increase of 292.9%; the sales volume of lidar products for robots and others was 16,100 units, a year-on-year increase of 22.9%; as of the end of the third quarter, the historical cumulative total sales of lidar exceeded 0.72 million units.
Gross profit in the first three quarters was approximately 0.17 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 375.4%; gross profit in the third quarter was approximately 71.21 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 210.2%.

Speed ​​Siasun Technology Co., Ltd. ("Speed ​​Siasun" or "Company"; stock code: 2498.HK) announced the unaudited financial performance of the Company and its subsidiaries (together the "Group") for the nine months ended September 30, 2024.

With the increasing penetration rate of lidar in the automotive market and the rapid development of the robot market, the Group maintains a stable growth momentum. In the first three quarters of 2024, the Group's total revenue was approximately 1.13 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 91.5%, exceeding the total revenue for the full year of 2023. The Group's product sales continue to show a high growth trend, with cumulative sales of lidar reaching 381,900 units in the first three quarters, a year-on-year increase of 259.6%; by the end of the third quarter, the total historical cumulative sales of lidar by the Group exceeded 0.72 million units, refreshing the industry delivery record. At the same time, the Group's gross margin increased from 12.3% in the first quarter of 2024 to 17.5% in the third quarter of 2024, and profit expectations continue to improve.

The Group's business performances are thriving. In the first three quarters of 2024, while maintaining a leading position in the automotive lidar field, the Group's products and business in the robot sector have made significant breakthroughs, becoming a new growth engine for the Group.

Siasun Robot&Automation CEO Qiu Chunchao stated at the performance exchange meeting that the current growth rate in the robot industry has shown explosive development similar to the automotive industry, and will continue to maintain a strong growth trend in the future. The group is leveraging its platform, scale, and technological advantages in the automotive field to provide core incremental components and solutions for the AI robot era, continuously expanding into larger market spaces in fields such as robots.

The performance maintains high-speed growth, already exceeding the full year revenue of 2023.

In the first three quarters, the group's total revenue was approximately 1.13 billion yuan, a 91.5% increase compared to the same period in 2023, already exceeding the total annual revenue of 2023. Among them, the revenue from lidar products used for ADAS applications was about 0.94 billion yuan, a 190.5% increase compared to the same period in 2023, showing rapid growth.

The gross profit in the first three quarters of 2024 was about 0.17 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 375.4%. In the third quarter, the group achieved a gross profit of 71.21 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of approximately 210.2% compared to the 22.96 million yuan gross profit in the same period of 2023. At the same time, the group's gross margin increased from 12.3% in the first quarter of 2024 to 17.5% in the third quarter of 2024.

The steady increase in gross margin is due to the group's continuous progress in cost control and economies of scale. In the first three quarters of 2024, the mass production scale of the lidar products used for ADAS applications by the group was significantly higher than that of the same period in 2023; meanwhile, the gross margin of this product category increased significantly from a gross loss rate of 20.3% in the first three quarters of 2023 to a gross margin of 12.2%, an increase of nearly 32.5 percentage points. Qiu Chunchao also mentioned at the exchange meeting that the overall gross margin is expected to further improve in the fourth quarter.

Leading global sales, adding several significant designated points for vehicle installation.

The group continues to lead the lidar market, with the total sales of lidar in the first three quarters of 2024 reaching 381,900 units, a year-on-year increase of 259.6%; among them, the sales of lidar products used for ADAS applications were 365,800 units, a 292.9% increase year-on-year; the sales of lidar products for robots and others were 16,100 units, a 22.9% increase year-on-year; as of the end of the third quarter, the group's cumulative total sales of lidar have exceeded 0.72 million units, breaking industry delivery records and achieving large-scale mass production for 31 models of 12 customers, including multiple models under various sub-brands of BYD in the third quarter.

As of November 29, 2024, the group has successfully obtained production orders for 92 vehicle models from 28 auto manufacturers and tier-one suppliers. In the L2/L2+ field, the group has secured cooperation for multiple new models from 7 auto manufacturers, including a leading domestic independent auto brand, one of the top three auto manufacturers in Japan, a leading Sino-Japanese joint venture in sales volume, a joint venture with one of the top three global auto manufacturers in China, and other major clients. In the L3/L3+ field, the group has added a leading international OEM and a joint venture brand. Additionally, in terms of L4-level autonomous driving, the group has achieved production cooperation agreements with a major global travel platform, as well as leading L4+ autonomous driving companies such as Pony.ai.

In terms of global business, the group has successfully established designated partnerships with 7 global automotive brands. In the third quarter, a partnership was added with one of the top three auto manufacturers in Japan and a leading international OEM, seen as a significant milestone in the group's global expansion.

According to the global automotive brand sales data for January-October 2024 published by CNIT, RoboSense has established partnerships with four of the top 5 automotive brands, with two of them having models in mass production.

According to data released by the Geely Auto Research Institute on November 29, of the laser radar suppliers, the group holds a 35% market share, maintaining a leading position in the global laser radar market. The 2024 Mobility Intelligence Dialogue event held in September revealed data from S&p Global Mobility [s&p global autos] predicting that the group will maintain an industry-leading position with a market share exceeding 30% over the next decade.

It is expected that more models equipped with the group's lidar will enter mass production in the fourth quarter, including the BYD Look Up and multiple models from a Sino-Japanese joint venture.

Driven by new products, the shipment volume of robots is about to explode.

The group is continuously expanding a larger market space in the field of robots, with significant progress and breakthroughs. By the end of the third quarter, the group's number of partners in the field of robots has increased from 2400 to 2600.

Qiu Chunchao stated: "Autos are just one application of lidar. We are now leveraging the platform, scale, and quality advantages gained in the auto industry to continuously expand a larger market space in areas such as robots and drones."

Based on the world's first mass-produced, solid-state, wide-angle lidar E-platform covering both the automotive and smart robot sectors, the group has completed the joint development of multiple new products for various vertical fields with several industrial, commercial, and even consumer important customers.

The E platform products are designed according to automotive-grade reliability standards, serving as both blind spot lidar for autos and the main lidar for robots and drones. The platform adopts a fully solid-state architecture, equipped with RoboSense's independently developed array SPAD-SoC chip and addressable 2D scanning VCSEL chip, providing high performance and reliability. With its compact and lightweight design, it is easy to integrate into various forms of robots and drones. Its ultra-wide field of view can comprehensively scan the ground and identify various obstacles ahead, helping robots achieve precise mapping, localization, and navigation for more agile and intelligent autonomous movement.

Currently, a variety of new products jointly developed by the group and partners have secured mass production orders from leading robot companies in different fields, with order volumes exceeding expectations. It is expected that the shipment volume in the robot sector next year is likely to exceed six figures.

In the overseas robot market, the group has successfully passed the overseas robot's top customer's development validation project acceptance and has won formal designated customers in several overseas robot key areas.

Qiu Chunchao said: "In comparison to the automotive sector's 2021-2023 application penetration stage, the growth rate in the field of robots has shown explosive development similar to the automotive industry, and is expected to continue to maintain a strong growth trend."

Continuous research and development achievements, the core incremental components of siasun robot&automation make an appearance.

As an AI-driven robotics technology company, the group continues to maintain high investment in AI algorithms, chips, and hardware, with a clear resource allocation strategy beginning to show results.

As of June 30, 2024, the Group has accumulated approximately 1540 patent applications worldwide, ranking first with 601 patents publicly disclosed in the 'China's Intelligent Connected Vehicles Lidar Technology Patent Publication' ranking.

In October, the group's independently developed SoC chip M-Core obtained the AEC-Q100 automotive-grade reliability certification, becoming the world's first lidar-specific SoC chip to pass this certification. Products equipped with this chip, such as MX, will achieve mass production and delivery in the first quarter of next year. This marks the group's commitment to providing solid security guarantees for the mass production and application of new-generation lidar products, fully meeting the requirements of global mainstream auto manufacturers for large-scale intelligent driving pre-installed production, as ADAS penetration rate accelerates.

In November, the group successfully showcased at the 26th China International High-Tech Achievements Fair its research achievements on 8 degrees of freedom agile hands using industry-leading self-developed 3D force sensor technology, attracting widespread attention. At the same time, the group plans to demonstrate in the near future the next generation of groundbreaking products integrating multiple underlying technologies.

Qiu Chunchao stated: "In terms of R&D investment, RoboSense has always maintained a high level of resource allocation. We will leverage the talents and technology accumulated in the early stage, continue to focus on key modules such as vision, touch, electric machines, and executive units, to provide core incremental components and solutions for the AI robot era, reducing the technological and cost thresholds for robot applications, and helping industries to achieve intelligence and large-scale implementation faster."

Adhering to the clear vision of becoming a "global leading robot technology platform company," the group will persist in deepening its core areas of autos and robots, making the world safer and life more intelligent through continuous innovation in robot technology.