New Stock Outlook | Haqing Zhiyuan ventures into Hong Kong stocks again: Profit quality and cost pitfalls under the halo of high growth

After the first application was invalidated, Shenzhen Haiqing Zhiyuan Technology Co., Ltd. knocked on the door of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange again on March 16th. This company, with multi-spectral AI perception technology as its core competitive advantage, is trying to further solidify its leading position in the field of general security and intelligent perception through the capital market. Different from traditional security companies, Haiqing Zhiyuan's technological moat lies in its ability to acquire and process multi-spectral information such as visible light, infrared, and ultraviolet rays. Through its self-developed "Zhiyuan Origin Genesis Model" and edge AI computing technology, the company is able to provide customers with perception decision support beyond the limits of human visual perception. According to Frost & Sullivan data, the multi-spectral AI market where Haiqing Zhiyuan operates is becoming an important growth pole in the perception intelligence field. In this listing on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Haiqing Zhiyuan plans to further expand the depth and breadth of its applications in emerging scenarios such as Internet data center (IDC) security, industrial and commercial security, and IoT facility management with the help of capital power. Based on the financial data you provided, I have conducted in-depth analysis of Haiqing Zhiyuan's operating performance for the fiscal years 2023 to 2025, forming the following professional financial viewpoints: Examination of profit quality and cost pressures behind high growth Observing that Haiqing Zhiyuan has shown strong revenue growth momentum in the past three fiscal years, successfully turning losses into profits, but its profit quality, cost control capabilities, and the efficiency of research and development investment conversion still face tests. The company is in a typical "high investment, high growth" stage, where IPO funding is crucial for maintaining its technological leadership and optimizing its financial structure. Specifically, the company's revenue surged from 117 million yuan in fiscal year 2023 to 669 million yuan in fiscal year 2025, with a compound annual growth rate of 139.2% over two years. In fiscal year 2024, the year-on-year growth rate reached 347%, and in fiscal year 2025, it still maintained a steady growth of 28% on a high base. This explosive growth confirms the strong demand for its multi-spectral AI solutions in the market, especially in rapidly penetrating emerging fields such as smart cities and data center optimization. The company has successfully converted its technological reserves into commercial orders, especially with endorsements from leading telecommunications operators and listed AI companies, providing a solid foundation for the scale increase of its revenue. Economies of scale have already been reflected in gross profit, which increased from 14.31 million yuan to 149 million yuan, achieving an expansion of more than tenfold. However, the company's profitability fluctuates significantly, and profit margins are under pressure. In fiscal years 2023, 2024, and 2025, the company's net profits and comprehensive income totaled -18.41 million yuan, 40.41 million yuan, and 29.35 million yuan respectively. It is worth noting that in fiscal year 2025, the financial income (32.07 million) is almost equal to the operating profit (31.15 million), which means that a considerable portion of the company's accounting profit comes from interest income, rather than purely from core business operations. In terms of net profit margin, it was -15.7% in fiscal year 2023, turned positive to 7.7% in fiscal year 2024, and then decreased to 4.4% in fiscal year 2025. Looking at expense performance, there is a surge in aggressive research and development investment and administrative costs. Research and development expenses increased from 11.08 million to 50.79 million, a growth of 358% over two years, with the proportion of revenue declining from 9.5% to 7.6% (due to the expansion of revenue base). General and administrative expenses increased from 11.87 million to 46.80 million, a growth of 294% over two years, with the proportion of revenue declining from 10.1% to 7.0%. Sales and marketing expenses increased relatively moderately, from 16.04 million to 17.70 million, with the proportion shrinking significantly from 13.7% to 2.6%. The expense structure clearly reflects the company's strategic priorities: heavy investment in research and development. Continued emphasis on research and development of AI algorithms, large models, and multi-spectral technology is a necessary choice to maintain its "technological moat." With research and development investment exceeding 500 million in fiscal year 2025, for a technology company with annual revenue of 670 million, the intensity is moderate, but the rapid increase in absolute amount puts pressure on cash flow. Strategic shift in business structure Large model services become the main growth engine Haiqing Zhiyuan's business development is currently undergoing a strategic shift from "hardware-driven" to "algorithm + service-driven." The rise of multi-spectral AI large model services has not only reshaped the company's revenue structure but also fundamentally optimized the economic efficiency of its business model. However, the drastic fluctuations in the gross margin of large model services and the decline in profitability of perception terminals reveal the pricing pressure and cost challenges the company faces during rapid expansion. Through the financial performance of various business lines, it can clearly outline Haiqing Zhiyuan's evolution from "selling modules" to "selling solutions" to "selling services." Looking at the revenue structure, Haiqing Zhiyuan's business landscape has undergone a fundamental reshaping in just two years: multi-spectral AI large model services contributed gross profit for the first time in fiscal year 2024, reaching 56.28 million, and soared to 108 million in fiscal year 2025, becoming the company's largest profit source. This structural change is significant. The large model services, starting from scratch in just two years, have become the main source of profits, confirming two key judgments: First, the high gross profit nature of large model services has been validated, but the drastic fluctuations are worth noting. The gross profit margin of 49.5% in the software and service categories is at a healthy level, indicating the company's strong pricing ability and technological premium. However, the abrupt drop to 30.4% in fiscal year 2025, a decrease of 19.1 percentage points, far exceeds the normal fluctuation range. Second, the decline in gross profit margin for perception terminals challenges the product competitiveness. The gross profit margin for perception terminals reached 25.1% in fiscal year 2024, indicating dividends from product upgrades or economies of scale. However, it dropped to 17.7% in fiscal year 2025, even lower than the level in fiscal year 2023. Third, the low-margin stabilization of AI module gross margin indicates a clear position for basic business. The multi-spectral AI module, as an embedded component, has a long-term gross profit margin hovering around 10%, rising to 11.2% in fiscal year 2025. This level is consistent with the industry norms for hardware module businesses and its strategic positioning as a "traffic entry" and "technology touchpoint." The value of the module business lies not in short-term profitability but in expanding the company's technical coverage and leading high-value businesses such as large model services. Overall, Haiqing Zhiyuan's business structure transformation has achieved initial results: large model services have emerged as the main revenue source, the comprehensive gross profit margin continues to increase, and the company is evolving from a hardware manufacturer to an "algorithm + service" enterprise. This transformation direction aligns with industry value distribution patterns and fits capital markets' preference for valuing technology companies. However, the pains of transformation are also evident: a simultaneous decline in gross profit margins for core businesses, sustained pressure on hardware business profitability, and the increase in comprehensive gross profit margin relying on structural changes rather than single-point optimizations. Behind these problems lies the pricing pressure, cost challenges, and strategic trade-offs the company faces during its high-speed expansion phase. Haiqing Zhiyuan is at a critical stage of transitioning from technical accumulation to monetization at scale. The rapid revenue growth and rapid rise of large model services validate the effectiveness of its technological route in the multi-spectral AI field and market entry strategy. However, fluctuations in profit quality, simultaneous declines in gross profit margins for core businesses, and the implicit dependence of operating profits on financial revenue expose the company's lack of stable internal profit-making capabilities during high-speed expansion.