Recently, Goertek (002241.SZ) released the latest announcement regarding the spin-off and listing plan of Goertek Micro.
According to the official statement on September 14, Goertek intends to spin off its subsidiary Goertek Micro to be listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, marking another strategic step for the company after its attempt in 2021 to achieve an independent listing of Goertek Micro through the ChiNext board.
Previously, due to changes in market conditions and other factors, Goertek decided in May 2024 to terminate the listing process on the ChiNext board for Goertek Micro and officially withdrew all related application materials.
After a lapse of four months, Goertek Micro has once again initiated its listing plan.
Given its current operating status with its parent company Goertek, and considering the expectations of investors in the 2.15 billion yuan pre-IPO financing round for future exit paths, Goertek Micro faces considerable pressure, making a switch to the Hong Kong stock market seem a necessary choice.
Listing appears to be an inevitable choice for pre-IPO investors of IPO companies, and this is no exception for Goertek Micro's investors.
According to the announcement, as the only subsidiary of Goertek focusing on the research and development, production, and sales of MEMS devices and microsystem modules, Goertek Micro's listing in Hong Kong will help consolidate its leading position in the global MEMS devices and microsystem modules sector, enhance its international influence, and thereby strengthen Goertek's overall competitiveness.
Goertek Micro's main customers include globally renowned consumer electronics brands such as Apple, Honor, and Xiaomi.
The prospectus shows that Goertek Micro's sales to the top five customers account for more than 70%, with sales to the Apple supply chain alone exceeding 50%.
The scale effect of these customers has brought advantages to Goertek Micro.
Statistics indicate that Goertek Micro's market share of MEMS acoustic sensors was 29% in 2021 and 26% in 2022, making it the global leader for two consecutive years.
Goertek Micro's advantage in the Apple supply chain has also made it a sought-after target in the capital market.
According to Qichacha, in 2021, Goertek Micro completed a pre-IPO financing round with investment institutions including CITIC Construction Investment Capital, CICC Capital, Cornerstone Capital, Jufeng Technology Innovation, CCB International, China Merchants Group Capital, and Rongcheng City Urban Construction Investment Development Co., Ltd., with a total financing amount of 2.15 billion yuan.
Additionally, the prospectus disclosed that in March 2021, 14 institutional shareholders including Qingdao Innovation, Gongqingcheng Chunlin, and Qingdao Hengtaitai, along with Tang Wenbo, increased their capital in Goertek Micro by 2.15 billion yuan, corresponding to an increased capital price of 35.49 yuan per share, with a total shareholding ratio of 10.41%, thus calculating that Goertek Micro's valuation at that time exceeded 20 billion yuan.
Qichacha shows that the aforementioned investors are still on Goertek Micro's list of shareholders.
Given Goertek Micro's position in the Apple supply chain and the market expectations it carries, its listing process has always been the focus of attention.
However, the withdrawal of the ChiNext listing application and the potential exit pressure from subsequent investors may prompt Goertek Micro to accelerate its shift to listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in search of new development opportunities and capital support.
It is worth noting that when Goertek Micro initiated the pre-IPO financing, Goertek's market value was also at a relatively high level, reaching 92.2 billion yuan.
However, the market is unpredictable, and Goertek's current market value has adjusted to around 63.7 billion yuan.
As part of the "Apple supply chain," this trend may indicate that Goertek Micro's valuation situation in the current market also faces some uncertainty, and its valuation prospects may no longer be as optimistic as before.
On the performance level, Goertek Micro also faces challenges, with its high dependence on major customers posing certain risks.
Goertek Micro's prospectus published in October 2022 stated that its sales to the top five customers accounted for more than 70%, with sales to the Apple supply chain alone exceeding 50%.
This high concentration of customer structure makes Goertek Micro's performance highly susceptible to fluctuations in demand from major customers.
This risk has already been reflected in Goertek Micro's performance.
The company mentioned in its inquiry response that in the first half of 2023, due to the decline in shipments of Apple's smart wireless earphones, Goertek Micro's revenue and sales price per unit of MEMS acoustic sensors in the earphone field both showed a significant decline.
Subsequent performance shows that Goertek Micro's revenue fell from 3.348 billion yuan in 2021 to 3.015 billion yuan in 2023, and net profit also shrank from 329 million yuan to 226 million yuan, reflecting the company's sensitivity to changes in major customer orders.
Turning to Goertek, the challenges it faces are more complex and diverse.
As an important part of the Apple supply chain, Goertek's performance is also closely linked to Apple.
In 2022, the company suffered a significant impact on its performance due to a major overseas customer suspending production of a certain smart acoustic whole machine product, an event widely interpreted as Apple's order reduction.
Since then, Goertek's performance has been in a significant fluctuation.
From 2022 to 2023, Goertek's operating income decreased from 104.9 billion yuan to 98.6 billion yuan, with year-on-year changes of 34% and -6% respectively; however, net profit plummeted from 1.749 billion yuan to 1.088 billion yuan, with year-on-year declines of 59.08% and 37.8%, respectively, posing a significant challenge to the company's profitability.
In the first half of 2024, Goertek's performance showed signs of recovery.
Although revenue fell by 10.6% year-on-year to 40.4 billion yuan, net profit increased by 190.44% to 1.225 billion yuan, with some growth attributed to the lower base in the same period of the previous year.
Compared with the net profit of 2 billion yuan in the middle of 2022, the current level is still insufficient, and the company still needs time to fully recover.
In addition, Goertek also faces liquidity pressure.
In the first half of 2024, Goertek's cash and cash equivalents were 15.5 billion yuan, while short-term borrowings, notes payable, accounts payable, and current liabilities due within one year totaled 30.9 billion yuan.
On other operational levels, according to its 2023 annual report, several major fundraising projects failed to achieve expected profit targets, including the dual-ear true wireless smart earphone project, AR/VR and related optical module project - AR/VR project, and AR/VR and related optical module project - optical module, with a total investment amount of 3.2 billion yuan.
The above together constitute the complex predicament that Goertek is currently facing.
