In 2023, Xiaomi’s overall business mode will shift from scale expansion to quality enhancement. According to the financial report for Q1 2023, Xiaomi's overall inventory amounted to CNY 42.6 billion, a decrease of over 24% from the same period last year, achieving three consecutive quarters of decline, and the lowest level in the past nine quarters.
Xiaomi Corporation (hereinafter referred to as "Xiaomi", Chinese: 小米, HK: 01810), headquartered in Beijing, recently released its 2023 first quarterly report. In Q1 2023, Xiaomi achieved revenue of CNY 59.48 billion (USD 8.41 billion), down 18.9% year-on-year; adjusted net profit of CNY 3.23 billion, up 13.1% over the previous year; and innovative business expenses including smart electric vehicles amounted to CNY 1.1 billion.
Xiaomi explained that the revenue decline was mainly affected by the overall market downturn due to the SSE Composite Index for cell phones. The profit growth, on the other hand, was due to the reduction in promotional activities and brand promotion of Xiaomi's new products in the quarter.
Founded in 2010, Xiaomi is a leading global consumer electronics and smart manufacturing company with a core focus on smartphones, smart hardware and IoT platforms. Xiaomi's products cover various categories including cell phones, TVs, routers, smart speakers, air conditioners and washing machines. According to leading global technology market analyst firm Canalys’s data, Xiaomi shipped 30.4 million smartphones worldwide in Q1 2023, ranking third globally with a market share of 11.3%. In August 2022, Xiaomi made the Fortune Global 500 list for the fourth time, ranking 266th, up 72 places compared to 2021.
Currently, Xiaomi's products are available in over 100 countries and regions around the world. According to the quarterly report, Xiaomi's overseas revenue in Q1 2023 was CNY 27 billion, accounting for 45.4% of revenue. On May 24, Xiaomi officially announced that the number of MIUI Global monthly active users (cell phone + tablet) has surpassed 600 million people, with about 75% of active users in overseas markets.
In terms of R&D investment, Xiaomi spent CNY 4.1 billion on R&D in the first quarter, up 17.7% year-on-year. By the end of March 2023, the number of Xiaomi's R&D staff reached 16,458, accounting for over 50% of the total number of employees, and the total R&D investment is expected to reach CNY 20 billion in 2023; the number of Xiaomi's global patents granted exceeded 32,000 and the number of global patent applications exceeded 62,000. In April, Xiaomi announced that it formally established the AI laboratory large-scale model team. The current Xiaomi AI R&D staff exceeds 1,200 people.
The major competitors of Xiaomi include Chinese companies such as Huawei (Chinese: 华为), OPPO, vivo, and Honor (Chinese: 荣耀), as well as international players such as Apple from the United States and Samsung from South Korea.
In a conference call following the release of the Q1 report, Xiaomi President Lu Weibing stated that the company's car-making business will progress according to the original plan and will meet or slightly surpass expectations in terms of time schedule. Meanwhile, Xiaomi Auto will also conduct winter and summer tests as scheduled.
As of press time, Xiaomi closed at HKD 10.4 apiece, with a market cap of HKD 259.85 billion.