Global 3D Printing Shipment Champion Creality: Annual Revenue of 3.1 Billion Yuan with Net Loss of 180 Million Yuan. Why ‘Gain Scale but Not Profit’?

ZC Asia has learnt that, according to disclosures made by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on 9 March, Shenzhen Creality Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as ‘Creality’) has submitted its listing application materials to the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with China International Capital Corporation Limited acting as its sole sponsor.

According to the prospectus and data from灼识咨询, Creality is the world's sole enterprise simultaneously offering consumer-grade 3D printing, consumer-grade 3D scanning, and consumer-grade laser engraving products and services. Its business scope has expanded from single 3D printers to encompass 3D printing consumables, 3D scanners, and laser engravers. The company has also established ‘Chuangxiang Cloud’—a global online community dedicated to 3D printing content (with over 5.7 million registered users)—and ‘Nexbie,’ an overseas e-commerce platform for 3D creative products.

Regarding market standing, based on 2024 GMV (Gross Merchandise Value), the company ranks second globally in the consumer-grade 3D printer market (11.2% market share), holds the top position in the global consumer-grade 3D scanner market (37.6%), and ranks third in the laser engraver market. Calculated by cumulative shipments from 2020 to 2024, Creality remains the world's largest consumer-grade 3D printing company, with cumulative shipments reaching 4.4 million units and a global market share of 27.9%.

Benefiting from a diversified product portfolio and global expansion, the company's revenue has demonstrated sustained growth. The prospectus indicates that from 2023 to 2025, Creality's operating revenue is projected to reach RMB 1.883 billion, RMB 2.288 billion, and RMB 3.127 billion respectively, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.9% over the three-year period. The 3D scanner business has been particularly impressive, emerging as a new growth engine. Its revenue contribution surged from 2.2% in 2023 to 11.7% in 2025, representing an over eightfold increase over the three-year period.

Concerns Behind the Prosperity: Substantial Dividends Eroding Profits, Cash Flow Under Pressure

However, this robust revenue growth stands in stark contrast to the company's precipitously declining profitability. From 2023 to 2025, annual profits stood at RMB 129 million, RMB 89 million, and a net loss of RMB 182 million respectively. Notably, the 2025 net loss exceeded the company's entire 2023 revenue.

In its prospectus, Chuangxiang 3D explains that the 2025 loss primarily stems from a substantial one-off expenditure of RMB 240 million incurred through share issuance to investors and dividend payments. Excluding this non-recurring item, the company's adjusted net profits stood at RMB 130 million, RMB 97 million and RMB 92.39 million respectively, showing a gradual annual decline that reflects mounting pressure on the core business's actual profitability.

Notably, the company's substantial dividend payouts prior to its IPO were conspicuous. In 2021, it declared a cash dividend of RMB 195 million, settled in instalments during 2022 and 2023. Just before filing its prospectus in May 2025, it again declared dividends totalling RMB 81.4 million to certain shareholders, fully settled by July that year. The sustained dividend payments, compounded by working capital requirements, directly precipitated the company's cash flow constraints. By the end of 2025, net operating cash flow had turned negative, recording -63.977 million yuan, with cash and cash equivalents dwindling to merely 277 million yuan.

Dual Pressure from High Inventory and Accounts Receivable

According to the prospectus, declining operational efficiency was a primary factor eroding cash flow. As overseas operations expanded, the company substantially increased inventory levels at its international warehouses to enhance delivery capacity, resulting in a sharp rise in stock. From 2023 to the end of 2025, inventory stood at RMB 356 million, RMB 438 million, and RMB 634 million respectively, while the average inventory turnover days extended from 81.4 days to 98.3 days.

Concurrently, trade receivables also rose substantially, increasing from RMB 177 million to RMB 338 million. The company acknowledges that any fluctuation or prolongation in inventory turnover, alongside delayed defaults on receivables, could adversely impact cash flow and liquidity. To mitigate the risk of rapid obsolescence in electronic components, the company's inventory provision for 2025 reached RMB 40.8 million, doubling from RMB 19.3 million in 2024.

US market contributes nearly 30% of revenue, with high tariff pressure

As a highly globalised enterprise, geopolitical and trade policy risks remain unavoidable challenges for Chuangxiang 3D. The prospectus indicates that from 2023 to 2025, the company's sales revenue to the United States amounted to RMB 493 million, RMB 525 million, and RMB 888 million respectively, with its share of total revenue rising from 26.2% to 28.4%.

In this IPO fundraising, Nexbie plans to allocate capital towards strengthening R&D, investing in overseas user operations (Nexbie Cloud and Nexbie), global brand promotion, and supplementing working capital. At this pivotal juncture where industry competition has shifted from ‘hardware battles’ to ‘ecosystem wars’, while Creality holds advantages in scale and ecosystem development, its post-listing challenges will centre on restoring profitability, mitigating external risks, and defending its market position against fierce competition from emerging rivals.

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.