Q4 revenue and gross profit remained stable, and the delivery volume increased steadily under the influence of many factors. According to the fourth quarter financial report released by Weilai automobile, Weilai 21q4 achieved a revenue of 9.901 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 49.1% and a month on month increase of 1.0%, of which the automobile sales revenue was 9.215 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 49.3% and a month on month increase of 6.7%. The gross profit was RMB 1.7 billion, with a year-on-year increase of 48.8% and a month on month decrease of 14.7%; The gross profit margin was 17.2%, unchanged year-on-year, decreased by 3.1pct month on month, and the gross profit margin was relatively stable. The net loss was 21.4 billion yuan, up from 21.4 billion yuan. Despite the impact of chip supply chain fluctuations, global epidemic and other factors, the quarterly delivery of Weilai 21q4 remained stable, with a total delivery of 25034 vehicles, an increase of 44.3% year-on-year and 2.4% month on month. At present, the company’s operation is improving. The delivery and profit are mainly affected by the supply chain, the rise in the price of upstream raw materials, the global epidemic and geopolitical factors. The company expects the total revenue of 22q1 to reach RMB 9.63-9.99 billion and the delivery volume to reach 250 Lingyi Itech (Guangdong) Company(002600) 0 vehicles. According to Weilai 21q4 performance exchange telephone conference, the company expects to achieve profit and loss balance in 23q4 and make a profit in 2024.
In 2022, three new cars will be delivered, the existing models will continue to be optimized, and the sales volume is expected to rise further in the future. According to the performance exchange conference of Weilai 21q4, Weilai will deliver three NT2 based products based on the existing “866” products in 2022 0 will take the lead in delivering the medium and large intelligent electric car et7 at the end of March. Before that, Weilai has adjusted its production line, and the production capacity of et7 will continue to climb, and it is expected to reach the normal production capacity in the third quarter of 2022; The medium-sized intelligent electric car et5 is expected to be delivered in September. On March 16, the first trial production vehicle of et5 has been offline in the trial production center. At present, the order performance is better than expected; Another suves7 is expected to be released in April, targeting the medium and large-scale high-end five seat SUV market, benchmarking BMW x5l, and delivery is expected to begin in the third quarter. At the same time, NT1 0 platform will also be continuously optimized to enhance the competitiveness of existing models es8, ES6 and ec6.
The price of raw materials has risen, but there is no plan to raise the price at present. The existing models will be upgraded in terms of intelligent hardware in the future. At present, affected by the sharp rise in the cost of raw materials in the upstream, a number of car enterprises have successively raised the price of cars on sale. According to the performance exchange telephone conference of Weilai 21q4, the company takes into account that the car models currently on sale are based on NT1 0 platform development, and the company plans to upgrade the existing models in terms of intelligent hardware this year and provide post installation upgrade services to existing customers. Therefore, the company will not adjust the price of existing models at present.
Hefei Xinqiao factory will be put into operation in the third quarter, and the new brand products have entered the key research and development stage. In terms of production capacity, the capacity upgrading of JAC plant is continuing, and the production capacity of the whole production line is expected to be increased to 60jph in the middle of the year; The construction and equipment installation of Hefei Xinqiao factory have been basically completed, and the commissioning work is progressing smoothly. The planned capacity is 60jph. It is expected to be officially put into operation in the third quarter, and the first production model is et5. In terms of new brands, the core team has been built, and the first batch of products have entered the key R & D stage. We believe that the successive delivery of three new models this year, the upgrading of existing platforms to enhance product competitiveness and the production and expansion of production capacity of new factories will strongly support the subsequent orders and delivery volume, and the sales volume is expected to further boost.
The successful delivery of the Norwegian market has accumulated experience for global services and strengthened the confidence to enter the global market in the future. Velai has set up a European team in 2021. Es8 arrived in Norway in late August and started reservation and delivery in September. Since 2022, the delivery volume of es8 has ranked the top two in the delivery volume of 6-seat or 7-seat passenger cars in Norway. In 2022, velai’s products and full range of services will be officially launched in Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark. At present, the team formation and preparations for related market entry are progressing smoothly. We believe that Weilai’s success in the Norwegian market has accumulated rich experience and strategic significance for the promotion of follow-up globalization services, and the globalization business is expected to bring new growth points to the company.
We will firmly increase R & D investment and deepen the R & D of relevant technologies in the field of automatic driving and battery, so as to benefit the overall gross profit margin in the future. 21q4 R & D expenditure was 1.823 billion yuan, an increase of 120.5% year-on-year and 53.3% month on month, In the year of 21, the annual R & D expenditure was 4.59 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 84.6%. Weilai Q3 began to significantly increase R & D expenses, mainly to cover labor costs, infrastructure construction, R & D expenses of new products and technologies. Some of the results of increasing R & D investment will be reflected in the three new vehicles delivered in 2022. According to the Weilai 21q4 performance exchange telephone conference, the R & D investment in the field of full stack automatic driving technology and power battery will continue to be increased in the next few years. It is expected that the R & D investment in 22 years will double that in 21 years, and the R & D personnel will reach 9000 by the end of 22 years. We believe that increasing R & D investment will help to enhance the sustainable competitiveness of the company’s technology and products, and will also improve the gross profit level and profitability in the long run.
Investment suggestion: Weilai automobile’s business performance continues to improve, the delivery volume increases steadily, and the product matrix is gradually enriched. With the release and listing of three new models and brands this year, the sales space is expected to be further opened, and the whole vehicle and its supply chain will also benefit; With the gradual penetration of automatic driving subscription and upgrade services, the value and gross profit margin of the whole vehicle will also benefit. We are optimistic about the continuous growth of Weilai automobile and the opportunities of its related industrial chains. We suggest paying attention to [Weilai automobile] and its related supply chains [ Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.Limited(300750) (covered by the power new team), Fuyao Glass Industry Group Co.Ltd(600660) , Jiangsu Changshu Automotive Trim Group Co.Ltd(603035) , Ningbo Tuopu Group Co.Ltd(601689) , Ningbo Joyson Electronic Corp(600699) , Anhui Zhongding Sealing Parts Co.Ltd(000887) , Zhejiang Sanhua Intelligent Controls Co.Ltd(002050) (covered by the home appliance team)].
Risk tips: the launch of new models is less than expected, the price rise of raw materials is more than expected, the impact of the epidemic is more than expected, and the competition in the automotive industry is intensified.
