New stock outlook | Sturgeon Technology goes to Hong Kong: net profit margin as high as 58.3% in the first half of the year, why does caviar leader "blood transfusion"

When aquaculture has become the absolute mainstream of global caviar supply, the world's largest caviar company, Xunlong Technology, is actively heading to the secondary market. On October 30th, Hangzhou Qiandao Lake Xunlong Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Xunlong Technology") officially submitted an application for listing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, planning to list on the main board of Hong Kong, with CITIC SEC and China Securities Co., Ltd. International as joint sponsors. The company was listed on the New Third Board on March 1, 2024, and voluntarily delisted from the New Third Board on August 6, 2025. According to reports, Xunlong Technology is the world's largest caviar company, the "absolute leader" in the industry-since 2015, the company has been the world's number one caviar seller for 10 consecutive years. From 2021 to 2024, the company's caviar sales continued to account for over 30% of the global market, reaching 35.4% in 2024, more than five times that of the second-largest company. Traditionally, caviar originates from wild sturgeon in the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea. Due to its extreme scarcity, unique taste, and deep cultural significance, it is known as "black gold." At the same time, due to overfishing and environmental pollution, wild sturgeon resources are on the brink of depletion, and China has become the dominant player in the global caviar market with its strong artificial aquaculture technology. Xunlong Technology, with its profound technology and barriers across the entire industry chain, holds absolute dominance in the industry. So, as the "absolute leader" in the caviar industry, what kind of investment story will Xunlong Technology write in the secondary market? Caviar leads the way to profits, with a net profit margin as high as 58.3% in the first half of the year Looking back at the history of Xunlong Technology's development, the company was established in 2003 based on the technical advantages of the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, registered and established the Hangzhou Qiandao Lake Aquaculture Base in 2005, founded its own brand "Kaluga Queen" in 2006, and launched China's first can of artificially cultivated caviar. With over 20 years of industry experience and development, Xunlong Technology has successfully built a complete industry value chain covering sturgeon breeding and aquaculture, caviar processing, sales, and brand marketing, and established the globally renowned caviar brand "KALUGAQUEEN." In recent years, as aquaculture has become the mainstream trend in global caviar supply, Xunlong Technology has seen steady growth in revenue scale and profitability thanks to its deep aquaculture technology and strong market share. It is reported that Xunlong Technology's products mainly target the high-end market, providing products exclusively for first-class cabins of major international airlines such as Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, and Cathay Pacific Airways under its own brand for a long time. The products are currently exported to 42 countries and regions, including France, Germany, and the United States. From 2022 to 2024, the company achieved revenues of 491 million yuan, 577 million yuan, and 669 million yuan respectively, with a compound annual growth rate of 16.7%; achieving net profits of 233 million yuan, 273 million yuan, and 324 million yuan respectively, with a compound annual growth rate of 17.8%. As of the first half of 2025, the company achieved revenue of 302 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 18.14%, and a net profit of 176 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 40.91%. Not only has the company's revenue scale grown rapidly, but its profitability has also seen a rapid increase. From 2022 to 2025, the company's gross profit margin was approximately 65.61%, 70.10%, 66.27%, and 71.29% respectively; the net profit margin was approximately 47.54%, 47.28%, 48.43%, and 58.31% respectively. However, although Xunlong Technology's growth performance is impressive, there are also some potential risks. On the one hand, Xunlong Technology faces the risk of a single product structure. Specifically, the company's income is extremely dependent on caviar products. According to the prospectus, caviar accounted for over 90% of the company's revenue. If there are unforeseen fluctuations in the global caviar market (such as changes in consumer trends, major food safety events, etc.), it will have a significant impact on the company. Although the company is also developing by-products such as sturgeon meat, the proportion is very small, making it difficult to provide strong support in the short term. On the other hand, Xunlong Technology also faces risks related to biological assets. It is understood that sturgeon have a long breeding cycle, taking 7-12 years or even longer to reach sexual maturity and be able to spawn. This means that the company requires significant capital investment, as it needs to continue to invest in breeding costs for many years before production. At the same time, the value of the company's inventory (sturgeon in aquaculture) is very high, and any disease, natural disasters, or other accidents could lead to a substantial write-down of assets. This is fundamentally different from the situation of Zoneco Group's "scallop running away" (sturgeon are bred in a controlled environment), but the inherent risks of biological assets still exist. From the above core financial performance data, as a industry leader, Xunlong Technology has shown outstanding performance, but there are also certain development risks. In the "golden track", with technological barriers to the world? The global caviar market is on a fast track of rapid growth in both quantity and price. Since the 1980s, the artificial breeding of sturgeon industry has boomed, and artificially cultivated caviar has gradually replaced wild caviar, with global production and sales steadily increasing. Global caviar sales have risen from 402.5 tons in 2019 to 729.2 tons in 2024, with a compound annual growth rate of 12.6%, still far from the historical peak, leaving huge room for growth. In this regard, the caviar market in China has developed rapidly, with the consumption of caviar expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 22.2% from 2024 to 2029, reaching a market size of 154.9 tons in 2029. Traditional consumption markets such as Europe and the United States are expected to maintain a compound annual growth rate of over 8.0% in the market size of caviar from 2024 to 2029. In addition, emerging markets in the Middle East, other regions of Asia, and South America are also in a rapid development stage, with the consumption of caviar expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 13.5% from 2024 to 2029, reaching 269.3 tons by 2029. The global consumption of caviar is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 11.0% from 2024 to 2029, reaching 1,230.9 tons by 2029. However, it should be noted that due to the long breeding cycle and slow growth rate of sturgeon, the supply of caviar is unable to meet the growing global consumption demand, and will continue to be in a state of undersupply in the medium to long term. Therefore, in the caviar industry, "those who have aquaculture technology and supply chain will have the world of caviar" is also regarded as the industry's guiding principle. This also provides more development opportunities for those who have deep technological knowledge and full industry barriers. It is reported that Xunlong Technology has established a business system covering the entire industry chain of "breeding, propagation, aquaculture, processing, and production" in sturgeon aquaculture, and has formed certain technological barriers. For example, in the sturgeon breeding and breeding segment, Xunlong Technology has built the world's richest repository of sturgeon germplasm resources. At the same time, the company uses advanced hybrid and molecular genetics breeding technologies to increase the average egg-bearing rate of sturgeon from 8% in 2006 to 18% in 2024, far exceeding the industry average of around 10%. In addition, it has successfully cultivated a hybrid sturgeon "Xunlong 1" with characteristics of fast growth, easy domestication, and high gonadal index. In terms of aquaculture management, the company has also introduced the "AI automatic tracking inventory" technology, which utilizes unmanned aerial vehicles, intelligent sensors, and big data models to significantly improve the efficiency and accuracy of biomass management. As a result, the company has maintained an accuracy rate of over 99.7% in inventorying biological assets for ten consecutive years since 2015. Overall, Xunlong Technology is on a "golden track" and has built a solid moat with its leading position, full industry chain barriers, and strong brand, achieving remarkable performance growth in recent years. However, investors must also recognize the main risks of its single product, breeding cycle, and biological asset risks. Therefore, the proceeds raised from this IPO, Xunlong Technology plans to be used for company aquaculture and capacity expansion, technological upgrades; brand marketing and sales channel expansion; research and development and digital upgrades; strategic investments or acquisitions; operating capital and general corporate purposes. From a deeper perspective, if Xunlong Technology can successfully go public this time and use the power of the capital market to consolidate its advantages and address risks, its long-term investment value is still worthy of attention.