Mei Ri Jing Ji Xin Wen·2025-05-19 15:15Core Viewpoint - Weir Shares (603501.SH) is changing its name to "Haowei Group" to better reflect its strategic direction and enhance brand influence in the semiconductor industry, particularly in the image sensor market [2][3] Group 1: Company Overview - Weir Shares is a leading domestic semiconductor design company with a market capitalization of 156.04 billion yuan and a stock price of 128.22 yuan [2] - The company completed the acquisition of leading CIS (CMOS Image Sensor) firm Haowei Technology in 2019, and by 2024, over 70% of its revenue will come from image sensors [2] Group 2: Competitive Landscape - Weir Shares is currently facing competition from another major image sensor manufacturer, Sitaiwei (688213.SH), which has shown significantly higher growth rates in revenue and net profit [2][3] - In Q1 2025, Weir Shares reported revenue of 6.472 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 14.68%, while Sitaiwei's revenue reached 1.75 billion yuan, with a remarkable growth of 108.94% [3][4] Group 3: Market Trends - The growth in revenue for Sitaiwei is attributed to the increased shipment of high-end 50-megapixel products for flagship smartphones and the rising demand for automotive CIS due to advancements in smart driving technology [4] - The automotive sector is identified as the fastest-growing market for image sensors, with both Weir Shares and Sitaiwei increasing their product shipments in this area [4] Group 4: Business Focus - Weir Shares is considering focusing more on its CIS business, as indicated by the significant increase in gross margin for its image sensor solutions, which rose by over 10 percentage points year-on-year [6] - In contrast, the gross margins for its display and analog solutions have been declining, with the display solutions revenue decreasing by 17.77% in 2024 [6]