Liqi Intelligent's ChiNext IPO has progressed to the inquiry phase, as disclosed by the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. The Wuxi-based automation specialist, focusing on material handling systems including automatic batching and mixing solutions, filed its listing application on June 26, 2025.
Financial metrics reveal steady growth, with revenue soaring from 619 million yuan in 2022 to 2.173 billion yuan in 2024. Net profit attributable to shareholders followed suit, climbing from 107 million yuan to 270 million yuan during the same period. Industry analyst Yuan Shuai, Deputy Secretary-General of the Zhongguancun IoT Industry Alliance, highlighted expanding opportunities in automation-driven manufacturing, particularly for precision material processing technologies.
Notable concerns emerge from the prospectus. Inventory levels remained substantial, accounting for 74.95%, 73.83%, and 64.52% of current assets across reporting periods. This exposes the firm to potential write-down risks while constraining capital efficiency. More strikingly, R&D expenditure ratios of 3.72% (2022), 2.72% (2023), and 3.53% (2024) consistently lagged behind the industry average of 6.62%, 6.44%, and 7.33%. Company representatives attributed this gap to a relatively compact R&D team during rapid expansion phases.
The 1.008-billion-yuan fundraising plan includes 200 million yuan for working capital supplementation. This follows substantial dividend payouts totaling 99.1 million yuan across 2023-2024. Corporate strategy expert Huo Hongyi observed that such distributions could signal financial aggressiveness if executed amid cash constraints, potentially indicating shareholder "value transfer" during the sensitive IPO window. Management defended the dual approach, citing anticipated working capital needs for overseas order fulfillment and R&D enhancement to boost competitiveness.
Controlling shareholder Lu Haodong commands 85.27% ownership through direct holdings and Ningbo Zhilian, consolidating most dividend benefits. A seismic client shift occurred in 2024: BYD Company Limited replaced CATL as the primary customer, representing 37.66% of sales versus CATL's diminished 18.57% share. Revenue from CATL plummeted 631 million yuan year-on-year, which Liqi attributed to delayed project confirmations amid the battery maker's fluctuating capacity utilization. Conversely, BYD purchases surged from 45.89 million yuan (2.67% of revenue) in 2023 to approximately 819 million yuan, cementing the new top-client relationship forged through their subsidiary's collaboration since 2015.