Skyverse Technology (688361) 长江证券·2024-10-20 08:16Investment Rating - The report assigns a "Buy" rating to the company, with a first-time coverage [6] Core Views - The company is a leading domestic player in semiconductor metrology and inspection equipment, positioned as a pioneer in import substitution [6] - Its product portfolio is rapidly expanding, with significant progress in domestic substitution [6] - The company achieved revenue of 891 million yuan in 2023, a 75% YoY increase, and net profit of 140 million yuan, a 1,072% YoY increase [6] Company Overview - Founded in 2014 under the incubation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Microelectronics, the company offers nine series of products, including nano-pattern wafer inspection, patternless wafer inspection, critical dimension measurement, and 3D topography measurement equipment, covering nodes below 28nm [2][6] - Major clients include SMIC, Yangtze Memory, Silan Microelectronics, JCET, Huatian Technology, and Tongfu Microelectronics [2][6] - The company went public on the STAR Market on May 19, 2023 [13] Industry Development - Semiconductor metrology and inspection equipment is critical for ensuring high chip yield, with a global market size of approximately 12.8 billion USD in 2023, accounting for 12% of the global semiconductor equipment market [7] - The market is dominated by overseas companies, with the top five players holding over 86% market share, led by KLA with a 56% share [7] - Domestic substitution is urgent, as the localization rate in China is less than 10%, lagging behind other sectors like etching, deposition, and cleaning [7] Business Progress - The company has successfully launched new products and upgraded existing ones to more advanced process nodes [8] - Key products, such as patternless wafer inspection and critical dimension measurement equipment, have achieved mass sales and are breaking into more advanced nodes [8] - New products, including bright-field and dark-field nano-pattern wafer inspection equipment, have started shipping, with OCD equipment showing promising results in client validation [8] - R&D investment reached 228 million yuan in 2023, accounting for 26% of revenue, with 465 R&D personnel, representing 44.4% of the total workforce [8] Financial Performance - Revenue in 2023 was 891 million yuan, a 75% YoY increase, with a gross margin of 52.6%, up 3.9 percentage points YoY [19] - Net profit in 2023 was 140 million yuan, a significant increase from the previous year [6] - The company expects net profit to grow to 146 million yuan in 2024, 268 million yuan in 2025, and 451 million yuan in 2026, with PE ratios of 160x, 87x, and 52x, respectively [9] Product Portfolio - The company's product line includes six categories of mass-produced equipment, such as patternless wafer inspection, patterned wafer inspection, 3D topography measurement, and overlay accuracy measurement [17] - Three additional products are in the industrialization verification stage, including bright-field and dark-field nano-pattern wafer inspection equipment [17] - The company is also developing wafer flatness measurement and multi-mode high-precision 3D wafer topography measurement equipment [17] R&D and Innovation - The company has a strong R&D team, with 465 R&D personnel accounting for 44.4% of the total workforce [8] - It holds 558 patents, including 135 invention patents [8] - The company's R&D expenses in 2023 were 228 million yuan, representing 25.6% of revenue [21] Market Position and Competition - The company is one of the leading domestic players in the semiconductor metrology and inspection equipment market, alongside Jingce Electronics [7] - The domestic market is highly fragmented, with most companies covering only three to four sub-segments [59] - The company's product matrix is relatively comprehensive, positioning it well for future growth in the domestic substitution trend [59]