With a three-year compound annual revenue growth rate exceeding 30%, Yifei Intelligent’s pre-IPO losses have widened to 153 million yuan

ZC Asia has learnt that Zhejiang Yifei Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Yifei Intelligent”) has recently passed its listing hearing and plans to list on the Main Board. Founded in 2012, the company specialises in industrial robots for light industrial applications. Its product range includes parallel robots (Bat series), AGV/AMV mobile robots (Camel series), SCARA robots (Python series), six-axis industrial robots (Mantis series), and wafer handling robots (Lobster series), which require a high level of technical expertise.

Revenue rose from 200 million to 387 million yuan over three years, with losses narrowing initially before widening

The prospectus shows that from 2023 to 2025, Yifei Intelligent’s operating revenue stood at 201 million yuan, 268 million yuan and 387 million yuan respectively, representing a compound annual growth rate of over 30%. Notably, the value of new customer contracts in 2025 amounted to approximately 600 million yuan, with around 121 million yuan added in the fourth quarter alone.

In terms of gross profit, the figures for the same period were 36.87 million yuan, 71.02 million yuan and 96.20 million yuan respectively, with the gross profit margin rising from 18.3% to 26.5% before falling back to 24.8%. The company explained that these fluctuations were related to project structure, raw material costs and delivery efficiency; in particular, when the proportion of solution-based business is high, the gross profit margin is naturally under pressure.

However, profitability performance has been unstable. For 2023, 2024 and 2025, net losses for the year were RMB 111 million, RMB 71 million and RMB 153 million respectively, with net profit margins of -55%, -26.7% and -39.5% respectively. The loss in 2025 widened significantly, even exceeding the level seen in 2023.

Excluding non-operating factors such as listing-related expenses, professional financing service fees and share-based payments, the adjusted net losses were RMB 106 million, RMB 52.33 million and RMB 86.64 million respectively. Even so, the adjusted loss for 2025 remained significantly higher than that of 2024.

R&D expenditure surged to 70.8 million yuan, exacerbating cash flow outflows

One of the key reasons for the widening losses is the continuous rise in R&D expenditure. From 2023 to 2025, R&D expenses amounted to 33.1 million yuan, 38.7 million yuan and 70.8 million yuan respectively, accounting for 16.5%, 14.4% and 18.3% of revenue. The company stated that its move to begin developing cutting-edge areas such as humanoid robots in 2025 further drove up R&D expenditure.

Meanwhile, operating cash flow has been negative for three consecutive years, with a marked deterioration in 2025. During the reporting period, net cash used in operating activities amounted to 86.7 million yuan, 69.6 million yuan and 183 million yuan respectively. The company explained that this was primarily due to increases in inventory and accounts receivable, as well as significant consumption of working capital during the expansion phase.

Inventory figures also corroborate this trend. As at the end of 2023, 2024 and 2025, inventories stood at RMB 121 million, RMB 140 million and RMB 245 million respectively, whilst inventory write-downs to net realisable value amounted to RMB 58 million, RMB 12.6 million and RMB 26.2 million over the same periods. Inventory turnover days decreased from 297 days to 241 days and remained stable thereafter.

As at 31 December 2025, the company’s total assets stood at 631 million yuan, total liabilities at 453 million yuan, and net assets at 177 million yuan, with cash and cash equivalents amounting to 51.12 million yuan.

A sector characterised by both favourable market conditions and intense competition: can the company cross the profitability threshold?

From an industry outlook perspective, the sector in which Yifei Intelligent operates possesses a long-term growth trajectory. According to Frost & Sullivan data, the scale of China’s industrial robot market has grown from 37.9 billion yuan in 2021 to 67.3 billion yuan in 2025, and is projected to reach 147.2 billion yuan by 2030, maintaining a compound annual growth rate of over 17%.

Within this, the market for light industrial automation solutions is growing even more rapidly, driven by sectors such as consumer electronics, fast-moving consumer goods and pharmaceuticals. Unlike heavy industry scenarios, which favour standardised large-scale equipment, light industrial clients place greater emphasis on solution capabilities and flexible production. This provides a space for differentiation for companies like Yifei Intelligent, which are driven by a dual-engine model of ‘robot bodies plus solutions’.

However, the competitive landscape remains challenging. On the one hand, international leaders still hold a technological edge in core components and control systems; on the other, the number of domestic manufacturers has surged, leading to severe homogenisation in the mid-to-low-end market, whilst price wars continue to squeeze profit margins. Based on 2025 revenue, Yifei Intelligent ranks fourth in China’s light industry robotics market, placing it in the second tier, with a significant gap remaining between it and the leading players.

Furthermore, the company’s business remains predominantly domestic, with overseas sales accounting for less than 10 per cent, indicating that its internationalisation efforts are still in their infancy. Regarding customer concentration, the revenue contribution from the top five clients fell from 60.7 per cent in 2023 to 46.8 per cent in 2025, whilst the share of the single largest client once reached as high as 40.3 per cent, suggesting that dependency risks persist.

Overall, Yifei Intelligent possesses a market-proven technological framework and has successfully penetrated multiple high-growth application scenarios. However, before achieving scalable profitability, balancing R&D investment with commercialisation, and improving cash flow and operational efficiency, will be key to crossing the watershed between ‘technological leadership’ and the ‘profitability inflection point’. Whether the funds raised through the IPO will provide sufficient time for adjustment remains to be seen.

Disclaimer: The content herein is for reference only and does not constitute any form of investment advice. Should any information contained herein prove inaccurate, incomplete, or potentially misleading, please refer to the company's official announcements. Market risks exist; investment requires caution.