NOVEL OPTICS(603297) 华西证券·2025-04-26 14:17Investment Rating - The investment rating for the company is "Buy" [4] Core Views - The company achieved a historical high in revenue for 2024, with total revenue of 892 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 4.41%. However, the net profit attributable to shareholders decreased by 11.37% to 209 million yuan. The first quarter of 2025 showed positive trends with revenue of 220 million yuan, up 1.77% year-on-year, and net profit of 56 million yuan, up 22.16% year-on-year [1][2] - The company is positioned as a leading player in the optical components sector, benefiting from the recovery of barcode scanning business and the mass production of LiDAR products. The company is also leveraging domestic substitution advantages amid global trade changes [2][7] Summary by Sections Financial Performance - In 2024, the optical components business generated 513 million yuan in sales, a year-on-year increase of 22.56%. The optical microscope segment saw a decline in revenue to 356 million yuan, down 13.92% year-on-year, but experienced an 8.53% quarter-on-quarter growth in Q4 2024 [2] - The gross margin for 2024 was 39.03%, an increase of 0.62 percentage points year-on-year, while Q1 2025 gross margin improved to 40.17%, up 2.46 percentage points year-on-year [3] Business Segments - The company is a leader in the domestic optical microscope market, with significant potential for growth in high-end optical microscopes, which have been historically dominated by foreign companies. The company has achieved over 5% domestic substitution in this area [7] - In the barcode scanning and machine vision sector, the company is the largest global supplier of optical components, maintaining a gross margin of approximately 40% [7] - The automotive LiDAR segment has seen substantial growth, with revenue surpassing 100 million yuan in 2024, driven by partnerships with leading companies in the field [8] - The medical optics segment is rapidly expanding, with key partnerships established for advanced medical imaging products [8] - The semiconductor optics segment has also been developed over several years, with long-term collaborations with major domestic clients [9] Future Projections - Revenue projections for 2025 and 2026 are adjusted to 1.16 billion yuan and 1.46 billion yuan, respectively, with expected year-on-year growth rates of 30.1% and 25.9%. The net profit attributable to shareholders is projected to be 346 million yuan in 2025 and 452 million yuan in 2026, reflecting significant growth [10][13]