It handed out a better-than-expected report card for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021
China's largest in-home robotic products manufacturer by market share Ecovacs (603486:SH) recorded a revenue of CNY 13.086 billion (USD 1.98 billion) in the fiscal year of 2021, up 80.9%.
Net profit attributable to shareholders was CNY 2.01 billion, registering a year-on-year increase of 213.51%.
The service robot sales revenue reached CNY 6.71 billion in 2021, accounting for 51.28% of the total revenue; and the revenue from high-end products accounted for 91% of the brand's total revenue, an increase of 10.3 percentage points year-on-year.
In terms of research and development, its R&D expenditure totalled CNY 549 million, increasing by 62.45% year-on-year. Johnny Zhu, Vice President of GBU Overseas Business, told EqualOcean that they mainly focused on three technical aspects - functionality, intelligence and interaction - to drive product innovation.
A total of 432 new patent applications were filed in the reporting period, including 242 invention patents.
It is worth mentioning Ecovacs’ achievements in the overseas market. “Globalization has long been regarded as an important strategy, and we have already gained wide consumer recognition through continuous brand investment,” said Johnny. Currently, Ecovacs has established a global business network with Europe, Asia Pacific, the United States and Japan being the core, and has built up complete online and offline sales channels. According to Johnny, the success would be mainly attributed to three advantageous capabilities, that is, efficient R&D, strong in-house production and localized operating.
“Service robots will be one of the fastest-growing tracks in China's robotics industry,” added Johnny. “Along with the accelerating aging and the soared demand for a higher quality of life, there is a large market for service robots in China.”
According to the Q1 2022 financial report, Ecovacs achieved an operating revenue of CNY 3.201 billion in the first quarter, up 43.9% YoY; the net profit attributable to shareholders was CNY 424 million, up 27.2% YoY.