Jincheng Pharm(SZ:300233) Sou Hu Cai Jing·2025-10-20 09:09Core Viewpoint - The recent penalty imposed on Jincheng Pharmaceutical's actual controller and chairman, Zhao Yeqing, for manipulating the securities market highlights a lack of compliance awareness among the company's core members and reflects long-standing governance issues within the company, leading to a dual crisis of trust and development for the firm [1][4]. Regulatory Actions - In August of last year, Zhao Yeqing received a notice from the CSRC regarding an investigation into his alleged market manipulation, coinciding with a significant stock reduction by his father, Zhao Hongfu, which raised market suspicions about the motives behind the sell-off [2]. - The penalty announced in September this year significantly reduced the initial proposed fines from March, where Zhao was to forfeit illegal gains of 7.72 million yuan and face a fine of 23.16 million yuan, totaling 30.88 million yuan, to a mere fine of 1.5 million yuan, while maintaining a four-year market ban [2][3]. Company Performance - Jincheng Pharmaceutical has been experiencing a decline in both revenue and profit, with a reported revenue of 1.36 billion yuan in the first half of 2025, down 22.65% year-on-year, and a net profit of 43.38 million yuan, down 66.78% [6]. - The company's core product, the cephalosporin side-chain active ester series, saw a revenue decline of 32.20%, while the formulation products dropped by 29.04%, indicating a significant downturn in its primary revenue sources [6][7]. Financial Metrics - The company's gross profit margin fell to 36.13% in the first half of 2025, a decrease of approximately 4.49 percentage points from the previous year, with all major product lines experiencing a decline in gross margin [7]. - Jincheng Pharmaceutical's R&D investment as a percentage of revenue has been significantly lower than the industry average, with figures of 7.87% and 5.68% in 2023 and 2024, respectively, compared to the industry averages of 12.34% and 12.61% [9]. Strategic Challenges - The company has struggled with a lack of clear strategic direction, failing to effectively transition from its reliance on intermediate products to a more diversified portfolio, which has hindered its ability to adapt to industry trends towards innovative drugs and high-end formulations [11]. - Jincheng Pharmaceutical's international market expansion has also been slow, with overseas revenue declining from 774 million yuan in 2019 to 685 million yuan in 2024, and further down to 708 million yuan in the first half of 2025, indicating a loss of market share [12].