Loctek Ergonomic Technology Corp(300729) the overseas layout plans to invest US $32.6 million in the construction of container ships again. During the institutional research, it said that the company's shipbuilding is repeatedly studied and planned for a long time at the strategic level, not on impulse. The cost of chartering is very high: for short-term Charter (half a year to one year), the quotation is close to 100000 US dollars / day (including labor cost), generally more than 50000 US dollars / day; For long-term rent (more than three years), the quotation is 30000-40000 US dollars / day. The annual rent is more than US $10 million, and the ship cost US $32 million. You can buy the ship after renting it for three years. In addition, this year mainly focuses on shipbuilding investment. Under the condition of balanced capital demand, it may also buy land to build its own warehouse. Next year, it will dilute part of its equity and introduce external investors. The operation of ships and the construction of warehouses need a certain amount of capital, and the capital demand will be steadily promoted according to the scale, growth and ability of business development.
Loctek Ergonomic Technology Corp(300729) overseas layout makes efforts again and plans to invest 32.6 million US dollars to build container ships
On January 27, Loctek Ergonomic Technology Corp(300729) announced that in order to further enhance the company's competitiveness and accelerate the development of the company's overseas business, the company plans to sign a 1800teu container ship construction contract with China's first-class shipyard. The total construction price of the above container ship is US $32.6 million and is expected to be delivered on March 31, 2023.
For this investment, Loctek Ergonomic Technology Corp(300729) said in the announcement that at present, international trade is in the transformation and development period from OEM to brand, the online consumption trend of consumer goods e-commerce continues to strengthen, and the company's online business is growing steadily and rapidly. In order to further improve the user experience of e-commerce shopping and rapid arrival, shorten the delivery cycle, improve the inventory turnover rate, promote the integrated operation of the company's public overseas warehouse business and first voyage shipping, drive more small and medium-sized enterprise brands to go to sea, and reduce the disturbance of logistics costs to brand operation, the board of directors decided that the company plans to strengthen the safety of supply chain through shipbuilding or chartering Improve supply chain efficiency and reduce transportation costs. The container ship to be invested and built this time will not have a substantial impact on the company's business status in the short term.
breaking the game in a severe situation
Since 2020, the global covid-19 epidemic has continued to spread, the efficiency of ports in overseas countries is generally low, and the security, timeliness, reliability and economy of the supply chain have been severely challenged. Subsequently, in 2021, the global shipping container price soared, and "one box is difficult to find" became the norm.
According to the freightos FBX index, the cost of shipping 40 foot containers (feu) hit a record high of $11000 last September. In November, although the shipping price decreased, about 11% lower than the historical high in September, 11% of the world's containers are still trapped in the world's major ports, and the shipping is still not unimpeded.
External factors such as the depreciation of the US dollar and the rise of sea freight have become the most significant negative factors to suppress the profit growth of foreign trade enterprises this year. January 20 Loctek Ergonomic Technology Corp(300729) also said in the survey that the profit side of the company is currently mainly affected by sea freight, which has remained high since 21q3. If the sea freight and exchange rate improve in the future, it will also be reflected in the company's profit margin.
In fact, in the post epidemic era, some foreign traders have begun to try to reduce costs by means of consolidation and packing, while large shippers and agents have thought of chartering ships. However, the high cost brought by the rising freight rate makes most foreign trade enterprises still need to bear the situation of low profit or even loss. In this context, Loctek Ergonomic Technology Corp(300729) heavily bet on container ships is a way to break the situation. The self built container ship complements the shipping link in the cross-border e-commerce ecological chain, which not only reduces the cost pressure and improves the transportation efficiency and customer experience, but also greatly improves the competitiveness of lege's cross-border e-commerce in the future. At the same time, with the support of container ships, the public overseas warehouse's ability to serve customers will be greatly improved. The addition of shipping business will also help the company build an integrated supply chain system.
It is worth mentioning that the public overseas warehouse project previously actively arranged by Loctek Ergonomic Technology Corp(300729) has also turned losses into profits and entered a rapid development cycle. Both the business scale and the number and volume of small and medium-sized enterprises are expanding continuously. As an indispensable part of the foreign trade economic system, the importance of overseas warehouses is self-evident. Behind Loctek Ergonomic Technology Corp(300729) active layout of overseas warehouses is the global layout carefully created by the company to achieve long-term development. So far, Loctek Ergonomic Technology Corp(300729) has deployed 17 public overseas warehouses around the world, including 14 overseas warehouses operating in the United States.
seeking progress while maintaining stability on the international road
In addition, Loctek Ergonomic Technology Corp(300729) also issued another announcement that it plans to set up a wholly-owned subsidiary Lechang Information Technology Co., Ltd. in Singapore with a total investment of US $30 million.
It is reported that the investment and establishment of a wholly-owned subsidiary in Singapore is mainly based on the consideration of strategic planning and business development. The company hopes to make full use of Singapore's advantages in international finance and international trade, further strengthen international cooperation and trade, and accelerate the internationalization process of the company, so as to improve the core competitiveness of the company and enhance the comprehensive strength of the company.
In response to the two matters, an industry professional pointed out that since the main products of lese are mainly large pieces and the market share outside Shanghai is relatively high, the high sea freight will suppress the business growth of the company. This investment in shipbuilding can not only realize the rapid arrival demand of overseas warehouse business, but also help to alleviate the pressure on profits and the risk of external factors. In addition, it is worth noting that the wholly-owned subsidiary established in Singapore also shows that Loctek Ergonomic Technology Corp(300729) may take Lechang information technology as the main body to promote the further development of overseas warehouse business in the future.
Overall, Loctek Ergonomic Technology Corp(300729) still has a clear planning direction for its long-term strategic development. Combined with the company's long-term forward-looking strategic layout, whether choosing a brand to go to sea or arranging a public overseas warehouse in the world, the company is on the road of conforming to the development of China's foreign trade economy, which further confirms the company's foresight in the global layout. Although the huge investment in shipbuilding has caused an uproar in the market, it may be another breakthrough of Loctek Ergonomic Technology Corp(300729) on the international road. We may as well wait and see.
