The 2025 interim report of CIMC (02039) reads more like a powerful echo of the "second entrepreneurship" initiative launched five years ago. According to the 2025 interim report, CIMC recorded revenue of 76.09 billion yuan in the first half, down 3.82% year-over-year, while net profit attributable to shareholders surged against the trend by 47.63% to 1.278 billion yuan, and net cash flow from operating activities skyrocketed 594.46% year-over-year to 7.154 billion yuan.

Revenue declined slightly by 3.82%, yet profits soared nearly 50% - this divergence phenomenon reflects CIMC's ongoing transformation from a "container giant" to a "comprehensive solution provider for high-end equipment and green technology," serving as a vivid example of China's high-end manufacturing industry's shift from "scale expansion" to "value cultivation."

Five years ago, marked by an open letter from CIMC Chairman Mai Boliang, the 40-year-old CIMC embarked on its "second entrepreneurship" journey with key objectives: prioritizing business focus and technological R&D in strategic planning, creating more world champion products, completing the upgrade to intelligent and high-end manufacturing faster than national and industry averages, and truly becoming a representative company of China's and global advanced manufacturing.

The 2025 interim financial report serves as the most intuitive annotation of CIMC's five-year transformation efforts.

First is the gross margin improvement. The financial report shows CIMC's gross margin continued to rise, with interim gross margin increasing 1.94 percentage points year-over-year. This change stems from lean cost management and increased proportion of high value-added products - for example, the traditional core container manufacturing segment's gross margin improved 3.95 percentage points year-over-year to 16.15%, while the high-end manufacturing marine engineering segment's gross margin increased 5.8 percentage points year-over-year, reaching nearly 11%.

The gross margin improvement obviously drives operating cash flow. During the reporting period, CIMC's operating cash flow reached 7.15 billion yuan, up sixfold year-over-year, marking one of the biggest highlights of this interim report.

Over the past decade, CIMC experienced two rounds of large-scale capital expenditure: marine engineering expansion from 2011-2014, and vehicle capacity deployment from 2017-2019, with asset-liability ratio once climbing to 68%. Now, the company's capital expenditure peak has passed, with depreciation and amortization beginning to contribute back to cash, building a strong cash flow moat.

Behind the operating cash flow improvement, balance sheet optimization carries strategic significance. CIMC reduced interest-bearing debt by 5.1 billion yuan through refinancing high-interest US dollar bonds, cutting net interest expenses by 310 million yuan year-over-year. This "deleveraging + cost optimization" financial operation proved particularly astute during the Federal Reserve's rate hike cycle, contributing to the asset-liability ratio declining to 61.01%.

From a business segment perspective, CIMC is breaking free from absolute dependence on traditional container business, achieving strategic business restructuring through technological positioning in emerging tracks, completing the transformation from single pillar to multi-polar growth.

In the energy equipment sector, it has grown into an industry hidden champion with net profit reaching 460 million yuan, up 90.26% year-over-year. Subsidiary CIMC Enric secured 29.18 billion yuan in orders on hand in hydrogen storage and transportation, and offshore LNG equipment, becoming a "water seller" in global energy transition while providing ample ammunition for future growth.

More noteworthy is the breakthrough in new energy - securing multiple LNG and methanol power package orders, winning domestic and international green hydrogen-ammonia-methanol projects in the hydrogen sector, marking strategic migration of its energy equipment business toward clean energy deepening.

Marine engineering business proved eye-catching, with net profit of 281 million yuan during the reporting period, achieving a crucial turnaround from a loss of 84 million yuan to profitability. Orders extend to 2027-2028, with FPSO/FLNG floating production equipment orders accounting for over 70%, successfully avoiding cyclical risks of conventional drilling platforms. Under the resonance of global energy transition and China's "blue economy" policies, CIMC's marine engineering business not only shed its "money-burning" label but became a core engine for valuation reshaping.

This is followed by the synergistic explosion of cold chain and intelligent manufacturing. Surging refrigerated container demand reveals global fresh supply chain restructuring trends, while CIMC Tianda's airport equipment and firefighting robot business net profit surged 119.57%, confirming the potential of integrating high-end manufacturing with intelligence.

CIMC's transformation is essentially a technology-driven value reconstruction. As of the 2025 interim report, the group possesses 6,331 valid patents, 8 national manufacturing single champion titles, and 16 "little giant" enterprises, building a R&D center and production network distributed across over 20 countries and regions globally. These figures represent its firm progress toward "specialized, refined, distinctive, innovative" and "global enterprise" directions.

More noteworthy is the successful implementation of the "Star Chain Plan" in road vehicle business. Through production organization restructuring to achieve differentiated competition, domestic market share increased to 23.07%, with Star Chain semi-trailer operating profit surging 74%. This proves CIMC's innovation extends beyond hard technology to include soft innovations in business models and management paradigms.

In capital markets, CIMC has resumed H-share buybacks, spending HK$56.24 million to date. CIMC Company Secretary Wu Sanqiang stated the company will continue advancing the buyback plan, and while current annual dividend ratio is no less than 30%, it will continue studying ways to increase dividend ratios, focusing on enhancing actual shareholder returns.

In summary, CIMC's interim report appears on the surface to show profit recovery with 48% net profit growth, but in essence represents a silent strategic revolution - shifting from "scale priority" to "efficiency priority," from "asset expansion" to "cash cultivation," from "Made in China" to "China Intelligence + Global Operations."