亏损压力下赴港“补血”，新诺威陷转型阵痛

Core Viewpoint - Newnovel (300765), the world's largest caffeine producer, is facing transformation anxiety as it seeks external financing through an IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange to address performance challenges and transition pressures [1] Financial Performance - Newnovel's revenue has been declining, with figures dropping from 28.38 billion yuan in 2022 to 19.81 billion yuan in 2024, representing a year-on-year decline of 10.55% in 2023 and 21.98% in 2024 [3][4] - The company reported a net profit of 2.94 billion yuan in 2022, which fell to 1.26 billion yuan in 2023, and turned into a net loss of 3.04 billion yuan in 2024 [3][4] - In the first seven months of 2025, Newnovel's revenue showed a slight increase of 8.74%, but losses expanded to 2.26 billion yuan compared to the same period in 2024 [3] Traditional Business Struggles - The traditional business, which includes functional raw materials and health foods, has been the main revenue contributor, accounting for over 90% of total revenue, but has shown weak growth [4] - Revenue from functional raw materials and health foods decreased from 25.71 billion yuan in 2022 to 19.81 billion yuan in 2024, with a decline of 4.7% in 2023 and 24.9% in 2024 [4] - The gross margin for this segment also fell from 45.6% in 2023 to 39.6% in 2024, indicating increasing pressure on profitability [4] Transition to Innovative Drugs - Newnovel's transition to innovative drugs has not yet yielded significant results, despite high gross margins of over 90% for biopharmaceuticals [5][6] - The company acquired a 51% stake in Jushi Biotech for 18.71 billion yuan in 2023, aiming to enhance its innovative drug pipeline, which includes antibody drugs and mRNA vaccines [5] - However, the revenue contribution from biopharmaceuticals remains low, accounting for less than 5% in 2024 and only 9.5% in the first seven months of 2025 [5][6] R&D Investment and Future Outlook - R&D expenses surged to 8.43 billion yuan in 2024, a 25.51% increase from 2023, representing 42.5% of total revenue, which has exacerbated the company's losses [6] - The upcoming IPO aims to raise funds primarily for biopharmaceutical R&D, asset acquisitions, product commercialization, and operational capital [6] - The success of Newnovel's transformation will depend on the efficiency of R&D conversion and commercialization capabilities post-funding [6]