Midea Group released its annual financial report, announcing plans to further increase R&D investment in 2024 to drive structural upgrades.
On March 27, Midea Group unveiled its 2023 annual report, showcasing historic highs in both revenue and net profit. The report reveals that Midea Group's total operating revenue for 2023 reached 373.7 billion yuan, marking an 8% year-on-year increase, while net profit attributable to shareholders hit 33.7 billion yuan, representing a 14% year-on-year growth. These figures propelled the company to achieve its largest net profit increase since 2019. Regionally, Midea's domestic operating revenue in 2023 was approximately 221.1 billion yuan, up by 9.87% year-on-year, with a gross profit margin of around 26.04%. Overseas operating revenue amounted to about 150.9 billion yuan, up by 5.79% year-on-year, with a gross profit margin of about 27.16%.
Behind these impressive revenue figures lies the company's continuous strengthening of its business layout. To B (business-to-business) operations are emerging as a significant driver of Midea's performance growth. In 2023, Midea's new energy and industrial technology segment achieved revenue of around 27.9 billion yuan, representing a year-on-year growth of approximately 29%; the robotics and automation segment recorded revenue of around 31.1 billion yuan, up by approximately 12% year-on-year; and the intelligent building technology segment achieved revenue of around 25.9 billion yuan, up by approximately 14% year-on-year. In terms of ToC (business-to-consumer) business, publicly available data shows that Midea products rank first in market share in eight categories including household air conditioners, desktop microwave ovens, desktop electric ovens, electric heaters, and electric fans in both online and offline markets in China.
On the global front, Midea's overseas owned-brand (OBM) business has also experienced growth, with a global market share of 16% in refrigerator compressors, achieving breakthroughs in core customers in overseas markets such as the United States, Brazil, and India; household air conditioner motors and washing machine motors each hold global sales shares of approximately 40% and 22%, respectively. As of now, Midea Group's e-commerce business covers over 30 major countries or regions globally, with products exported to over 200 countries and regions worldwide, supported by approximately 5,000 after-sales service outlets.
In 2023, Midea Group continued to increase its R&D investment, exceeding 14 billion yuan, with continuous growth in R&D investment. By the end of 2023, the company had over 23,000 R&D personnel globally, accounting for over 50% of non-production personnel, with a maintenance volume of over 80,000 authorized patents. Additionally, the company deepened its deployment in smart transportation incremental components, with its automotive electric compressors covering the entire lineup of multiple mainstream automakers. In the robotics and automation segment, Midea launched series such as KR CYBERTECH and KR QUANTEC, covering multiple scenarios and niche markets. The second phase of the KUKA Intelligent Manufacturing Technology Park under the company's umbrella has been fully operational, forming a complete industrial robot industry chain park.
Regarding the 2024 targets, the Midea Board of Directors stated that the Group will focus on enhancing full-value chain operations and structural growth upgrades, steadfastly promoting business model, structure, and industry upgrades, seizing strategic certainties, and addressing the constantly changing external environment.