New stock prospect | Haut Energy: Stable income growth, top five customers contribute over 90% of revenue

Sitting on the concepts of "dual carbon" and AI dual development, will the leading supplier of data center energy management solutions, How Tech Energy Efficiency, be favored by capital after submitting its listing application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange for the second time? It is understood that How Tech Energy Efficiency recently resubmitted its listing application to the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with GF SEC and Shenwan Hongyuan Group Hong Kong serving as its joint sponsors. The company is a leading provider of energy management solutions in China, ranking fifth in the Chinese market with a 3.5% market share in the neutral operator market segment revenue by 2025, according to Frost & Sullivan data. The company was listed on the New Third Board in April 2016 and voluntarily applied to delist from the New Third Board in May 2021, aiming to go public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2025. It first submitted its prospectus to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in November and it expired in May 2026, and this is the second submission. How Tech Energy Efficiency focuses on the data center segment, providing a full life-cycle service system for energy management solutions, covering consulting services, solution design, equipment selection and procurement, project integration and implementation, as well as system maintenance, with stable performance. The company had revenues of 858 million yuan, 1.018 billion yuan, and 1.179 billion yuan in 2023-2025, and net profits of 70 million yuan, 76 million yuan, and 66 million yuan, respectively. In the dual background of "dual carbon" and AI development trends, improving energy efficiency and reducing PUE has become an important trend in the construction and operation of data centers. As an industry supplier, how competitive is How Tech Energy Efficiency and can it fully benefit from the industry's development dividends? Two driving factors keep the industry growing in double digits It is understood that the data center includes two types, namely operator-operated data centers and operator-neutral data centers, with operator-neutral data centers providing interconnection with networks operated by multiple network service operators and internet service providers. The energy management solutions integrate consulting and technology services and are mainly used in various fields such as data centers, commercial buildings, and industrial facilities. According to Frost & Sullivan data, the market size of data center energy management solutions in China in 2025 is 76.7 billion yuan, with a compound annual growth rate of 18.2% from 2020 to 2025, and is expected to reach 196.4 billion yuan by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate of 20.7%. Among them, the compound annual growth rates of operator-operated and operator-neutral data centers are 14.9% and 23.9%, respectively, and are expected to reach 90.2 billion yuan and 106.2 billion yuan by 2030, with compound annual growth rates of 15.4% and 26.6%, respectively. The data center energy management industry is relatively fragmented, with the top ten participants accounting for 58.1% of the market share in 2025 in terms of revenue, while the operator-neutral data center energy management solution industry accounts for 44.6%, with significant differentiation. The largest participants in the above-mentioned fields are the same company, with market shares of 27.7% and 24.9%, respectively. How Tech Energy Efficiency ranks ninth in the data center energy management industry with a market share of 1.5% and fifth in the operator-neutral data center energy management solution industry with a market share of 3.5%. The industry is driven by two main factors: the demand for AI computing power is driving the development of advanced data centers, which are evolving towards higher power rack capacities, GPU clusters, and more intelligent computing environments; and AI servers consume multiple times more energy than traditional CPU servers, leading to a continuous increase in demand for large-scale and reliable data centers. In addition, energy management compliance with the "dual carbon" policy requirements can benefit from the dual dividends of energy policy and AI development. While How Tech Energy Efficiency lags behind the industry leader in market share, the industry's development momentum is good, and there is hope for a piece of the pie. Steady growth in core business, but high customer concentration and declining profitability Founded in 2006, How Tech Energy Efficiency mainly provided energy management solutions for industrial and commercial buildings from 2006 to 2019, and since 2020, it has shifted its focus to providing data center energy management solutions. The company is engaged in two main categories of business, namely energy management solutions and sales of temperature control products and ICT equipment, with energy management solutions accounting for the majority of its revenue, reaching 98.3% in 2025. The energy management solutions include data center energy management solutions and industrial and commercial building energy management solutions, with data center energy management solutions as the main source of revenue. The revenues for 2023-2025 were 799 million yuan, 985 million yuan, and 1.155 billion yuan, with a compound annual growth rate of 20.23%, and revenue shares of 93.1%, 96.7%, and 97.9%, respectively. Data center energy management solutions are designed in accordance with the data center construction requirements of Chinese national or local governments and the overall energy efficiency needs of customers, usually entering into contracts directly with telecommunications operators and data center operators to provide one-stop data center energy management solutions. In addition, contracts are also signed with communication engineering and equipment service providers, with EPC contractors being the direct clients of the company. The company's energy management projects follow a one-stop fixed service model, delivering consulting, engineering design, a full set of energy management equipment, materials, and components to customers for operating facilities, mainly carried out on a case-by-case basis. To date, the company has successfully completed 220 projects covering 13 provinces and municipalities, with 168 projects in Guangdong, 17 in Hebei, and 8 in Hainan. The main projects currently being promoted are in Hebei and Inner Mongolia, with a contract value of 151 million yuan. However, the number of projects with confirmed revenue is decreasing, with 20, 16, and 15 confirmed revenue projects in 2023-2025, respectively. In terms of customers, How Tech Energy Efficiency has a very high concentration, with the top five customers contributing as high as 81.4%, 94.9%, and 97.9% of revenue in 2023-2025. The company maintains stable revenue through two main methods: by maintaining existing customers and establishing long-term cooperation relationships with customers through one-stop customized services, and by obtaining new customer resources through bidding platforms. The company has a high success rate in bidding, with bid rates of 87.9%, 89.1%, and 93.9% in 2023-2025. In addition, the company is actively promoting its internationalization strategy and plans to establish a sales center in Hong Kong, which is basically consistent with its strategy of listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and expanding into Southeast Asia, including opportunities in Singapore and Malaysia. In terms of profitability, the company's gross profit margin is unstable, reaching 14.9%, 17.9%, and 12.3% in 2023-2025, with the gross profit margins for the core business data center energy management solutions at 15.3%, 18.2%, and 12.8% respectively. It is apparent that the gross profit margin declined significantly in 2025. The company's expense ratio is relatively low, with research and development expenses accounting for the largest portion at 3.48% in 2025, maintaining overall profitability, with net profit margins of 8.16%, 7.47%, and 5.6% in 2023-2025. How Tech Energy Efficiency's finances are relatively healthy, with positive net working capital values maintained annually, reaching 286 million yuan, 360 million yuan, and 434 million yuan in 2023-2025, and 795 million yuan as of April 2026. However, the company needs to address the issue of its high accounts receivable, which reached 736 million yuan in 2025, accounting for 63.4% of current assets and 62.4% of revenue, increasing to 906 million yuan as of April 2026. In summary, the data center energy management solutions industry maintains double-digit growth, with sustainability driven by the "dual carbon" policy and AI development. However, How Tech Energy Efficiency's competitiveness is relatively weak, with a slight gap in market size compared to the industry leader, and while the company benefits from industry development, revenue growth is maintained, but profitability continues to decline. Additionally, the company is highly dependent on its customers, posing operational risks. Nevertheless, the industry outlook is positive, and both driving factors are in popular areas, attracting high capital attention and potentially receiving higher valuations in the capital market.