Xin Lang Cai Jing·2025-09-26 07:36Core Insights - The AI chip industry has seen a continuous increase in prosperity since 2025, with a significant rise in investment in the semiconductor equipment sector, leading to a 24% year-on-year growth in global semiconductor equipment company revenues in Q2 2025 [1] - The demand for high-performance SoC testing machines and storage testing machines has surged due to the high requirements of AI chips for computing performance and power consumption, with the HBM technology becoming a standard for AI computing [1] - The overseas semiconductor equipment market has experienced a 40% year-on-year growth driven by AI-related investments, particularly in testing and packaging equipment [1] - In contrast, the Chinese market saw a slight decline of 1% year-on-year in H1 2025, although the domestic semiconductor equipment localization rate increased by 6 percentage points to 21% [1] Company Performance - In H1 2025, there was a performance divergence among semiconductor equipment manufacturers, with nine front-end equipment companies reporting revenue growth, but some, including Jingce Electronics, Chipone Technology, and Tuojing Technology, saw significant declines in net profit [2] - For Q2 2025, North China Innovation (北方华创) reported a revenue growth of 22.5% but a net profit decline of 1.6%, indicating revenue growth without profit increase, while Zhongwei Company showed a different trend [2] - The weak net profit growth of North China Innovation may be attributed to the acquisition of Chipone Technology, which had a significant drop in gross margin, affecting the overall profitability [2][3] Financial Metrics - Historically, North China Innovation has maintained a gross margin above 40%, while Chipone Technology's gross margin has fluctuated between 36% and 42.53% in recent years [3] - In H1 2025, after consolidating Chipone Technology's financials, North China Innovation's operating costs increased, impacting profitability [3] - The R&D expense ratio for North China Innovation increased to 12.87% in H1 2025, with R&D investment rising by 30.01% to 2.915 billion yuan, reflecting a focus on innovation and new product development [3] Product Development - North China Innovation launched several new products in H1 2025, including ion implantation equipment and advanced low-pressure chemical vapor deposition systems, contributing to a diverse product lineup [3] - The revenue structure indicates that etching equipment generated over 5 billion yuan in revenue, establishing a comprehensive product range in this category [3] - The performance of domestic equipment shipments and financial results is primarily influenced by storage capital expenditures and the yield of advanced logic processes, highlighting the importance of ongoing investments in these areas [3]