Silicon Electric Corporation's IPO application submitted to the Growth Enterprise Board, the largest probe station equipment manufacturing company in mainland China.

On January 13, Sino-IC Semiconductor Equipment (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. (referred to as Sino-IC) applied for a change in the IPO review status of the ChiNext Board of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange to "submitted for registration". CMSC is its sponsor and the company plans to raise 555.88 million yuan. According to the prospectus, Sino-IC is mainly engaged in the research and development, production, and sales of semiconductor specialized equipment, focusing on the semiconductor probe testing technology field. It is a leading domestic manufacturer of probe testing technology equipment. Probe testing technology is mainly used in the semiconductor manufacturing wafer testing (CP, Circuit Probing) process, as well as in the entire wafer acceptance test (WAT test), design verification, and final test processes, which are key technologies to detect chip performance and defects, ensure the accuracy of chip testing, and improve the efficiency of chip testing. The company has independently developed various types of semiconductor equipment using probe testing technology, and its products are widely used in the manufacturing of integrated circuits, optoelectronic chips, discrete devices, third-generation compound semiconductors, and other semiconductor products. The company has become the largest probe station equipment manufacturer in mainland China. The company's core technical team has over 30 years of experience in probe testing technology research and development. Since its establishment, the company has focused on technological innovation and has mastered the core technology of probe testing, breaking the monopoly of overseas manufacturers and becoming an important equipment manufacturer in the probe station field in the Chinese mainland market. The company's probe testing products have been applied by leading wafer manufacturing, packaging testing, optoelectronic device, discrete device, and sensor manufacturers in mainland China such as Hangzhou Silan Microelectronics, BYD Company Limited, Beijing YanDong MicroElectronic, Tianshui Huatian Technology, Sanan Optoelectronics, Accelink Technologies, and Geoway Micro. According to SEMI and CSA Research statistics, in 2019, Sino-IC accounted for 13% of the probe station equipment market share in mainland China, ranking fourth in market share and first among Chinese mainland equipment manufacturers. Based on SEMI's statistics and the company's revenue scale estimation, the company's market share in the mainland China region is expected to increase year by year, reaching 19.98%, 23.68%, and 25.70% in 2021, 2022, and 2023 respectively. The company is the first mainland China 12-inch wafer probe station equipment manufacturer to achieve industrial application, with its products used by leading packaging and testing companies and 12-inch chip production lines in mainland China. The company's wafer probe station with self-developed optoelectronic testing module has been applied by several leading optoelectronic chip manufacturers in mainland China to meet the equipment requirements for testing new generation display technology Mini/MicroLED chips. Based on the company's accumulation in the probe testing technology field and its experience in the semiconductor specialized equipment industry, the company has developed and mass-produced other semiconductor specialized equipment such as sorters, exposure machines, and AOI inspection equipment. Financially, in the fiscal years 2021, 2022, 2023, and the period from January to June 2024, Sino-IC achieved operating revenues of approximately 399 million yuan, 442 million yuan, 546 million yuan, and 288 million yuan respectively. During the same periods, the company achieved net profits of approximately 96.03 million yuan, 114 million yuan, 89.33 million yuan, and 56.25 million yuan respectively. According to the risk factors section in Sino-IC's prospectus, the company faces the risk of a decline in gross profit margin. During the reporting period, the company's gross profit margins were 41.38%, 44.33%, 34.16%, and 38.91% respectively, with the decrease in gross profit margin in 2023 mainly attributed to the company's pricing adjustments to major clients. In the future, as the business scales up, there is a risk of the company's gross profit margin declining. The main factors contributing to the risk of the company's gross profit margin decline include: (1) If the future macroeconomic growth continues to slow down and market competition intensifies, the company may implement appropriate pricing strategies to accelerate market expansion and increase market share; (2) In the cost structure of the company's products, the proportion of direct material costs to the company's main operating costs is relatively high, accounting for 87.24%, 89.52%, 89.23%, and 86.22% during the reporting period. The company's products mainly include components such as source tables, industrial control computers, and spectrometers. During the reporting period, there were fluctuations in the purchase prices of these components. If future raw material prices rise, it will have an adverse impact on the company's product gross profit margin.