2023 last dance, optical manufacturers how to play in the fourth quarter

With Huawei and Apple's new machine hot war coming to an end, the imaging industry is about to usher in the last season of this year.

According to more than a dozen mainstream optical supply chain manufacturers interviewed by the tide think tank, the plan is basically to be able to successfully complete the delivery of mobile phone orders, and at the same time, it is advantageous to the card, some of which said that they expect to deepen the moat with technological innovation.

"In terms of business, the whole year has been decided. "In the first half of the year, everyone was hungry and cold, but in the second half, sales were a little different, which shows that the market is still stimulating and variable." Yang Xianqi (a pseudonym), a first-line optical manufacturer in China, said that the strong performance of Huawei mobile phones has significantly boosted confidence in the supply chain.

According to data released by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, 124 million smartphones were shipped in the first half of this year, down 7 percent year-on-year. Another industry body statistics, the first half of the global smartphone sales of 520 million units, down 13.3%.

Chaodi think tank believes that in recent years, optical image supply groups have been well versed in the law of the jungle in the face of adversity, in the face of smart phones, smart cars, XR and even the entire consumer electronics industry changes, enterprises can only effectively enhance their own technical force and product force, in order to achieve stability and long-term.

01 Mobile phone smooth

According to information disclosed by a core executive of Sunwin Hing to Chaodian Think Tank, orders for mobile phone camera modules have increased since August, and the market environment has improved.

A Tao is the project director of a powerful optical manufacturer in China, and this year it has developed very rapidly, breaking into the supply system of high-end products of several head phone manufacturers. "Stability is particularly important at this stage, so our focus in the fourth quarter is to get the product yield right and ensure the delivery cycle.

Not surprisingly, smooth will be the key word in the mobile imaging supply chain. After all, in this year's closing battle, no one has too much capital to make mistakes.

According to the tide power think tank, due to the decline of customers to pursue the ultimate cost reduction and efficiency strategy, the optical image supply chain in the past two years is the most ruthless camera module manufacturers, which is reflected in the business data of Sunny Optical, Qiu titanium technology, Oufei light and other industry heads.

In fact, a top-down industry volume makes the ecological environment of the mobile phone supply chain deteriorating, and some optical manufacturers show signs of falling behind or even out.

Tidal think tank learned that the original shipments of a low-specification lens manufacturer have been at the forefront, but due to insufficient product technology innovation is now on the verge of bankruptcy, more than 2,000 employees have been reduced to 100 people.

However, it is worth noting that in the face of the real pressure to survive, the vast majority of suppliers have been brave enough to refuse those who lose money or do not make money, even if the customer is a long-term cooperation of the first line.

What is good is that the tide power think tank learned from the supply chain that since the second quarter of this year, the unit price of optical modules, lenses and other products has been adjusted back.

02 Car accident

At the Shenzhen Optical Fair in September, Chaodian Think Tank found that almost all optical manufacturers are mainly promoting car lenses, modules, HUD, lidar, software algorithms, automation equipment and other related products.

Compared with Sainty Optical, Lianchuang Electronics and other car head companies in the hall C, although the booth is not in the absolute center, but it has become the biggest dark horse.

A senior person in charge of Teres revealed to the Chaodian think tank that "the company signed a 50 million yuan car lens order on the first day of the optical fair, and now there are more customer projects under negotiation and specific progress."

As a mainstream car lens manufacturer in the market, a number of Terres' products of 3M and CMS 3M have entered a number of head car Tier1 and terminal core supply chains. The OMS 5M and ADAS 8M products, which were mainly launched at the fair, received high attention.

"Our focus in the fourth quarter is to grab on-board projects and seize favorable positions." Yang Xianqi bluntly, now the biggest variable is the car field. One is the volume, the second is the profit, the third is the stability, no one is willing to miss this tuyere.

With 17 years of rich experience in the field of innovative technology and intelligent hardware ecology, Chen Xingwen, general manager of the intelligent technology product division of the Aerial view, said that the mobile phone translating the route of the car does not work, because the underlying logic is completely different, such as the consumer electronics image is to show people, the function is to record and share; The car image is for the machine to see, and it has strict requirements for real-time accurate judgment.

Due to the existence of various thresholds such as certification cycle, product requirements, rim resources, and so on, there are few optical manufacturers who really enjoy the on-board dividend now. Chaodian think tank believes that before the overall situation is uncertain, the fierce degree of competition in this field will not be less than the mobile phone sector.

03 Technical Sprint

Precision optical manufacturing is a typical high-tech, asset-heavy industry, which requires continuous research and development and equipment investment, and is also the key to enhance the comprehensive competitiveness of enterprises.

According to the tide power think tank, whether it is the largest mobile phone market in demand, or the popular smart car, XR, machine vision and other segments, head optical manufacturers have basically completed the layout, and a new round of technical competition has kicked off early.

From the perspective of the first half of this year, perhaps due to the impact of business performance, optical manufacturers' research and development investment has decreased in a large area. However, according to the statistics of Chaodian think tank, during the report period, five companies such as Oufei Light, Sunny Optical, Qiu Titanium Technology, Ruisheng Technology, and Lianchuang Electronics invested a total of more than 3 billion yuan in research and development.

Ofiguang invested 682 million yuan in research and development in the first half of the year, a decrease of 4.18%; Accounting for 10.8% of total revenue, the layout of smart phones, smart cars and new areas.

Sainyu Optical invested 1.205 billion yuan in research and development in the first half of the year, a decrease of 17.9%. Sainty Marine said in the announcement that it was mainly due to strengthening the management of research and development investment.

Qiuti Technology's research and development expenses in the first half of the year were 194 million yuan, a decrease of 25.6%. Qiu Titanium Technology said that it is mainly to improve the efficiency of research and development, optimize the research and development team, and reduce the input of research and development materials.

Ruisheng Technology's research and development expenses in the first half of the year were 675 million yuan, a decrease of 7.2%. The company said this was mainly due to improved cost effectiveness in research and development.

The only year-on-year increase in this indicator was Lianchuang Electronics. The company's research and development expenses in the first half of the year were 271 million yuan, an increase of 48.1%.The huge era of intelligent terminals is being established, and the optical application field is bound to be more diversified. Chaodian think tank predicts that in the fourth quarter, manufacturers with less direct pressure to grab a single will increase their technological innovation to occupy the commanding heights, such as the patent battle between Sainyu and Chenrui Optics at the end of last year is a typical case.