On August 19, Midea Group officially released its 2024 semi-annual report. According to the report, Midea Group's total operating income in the first half of the year reached 218.1 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10%, following the first quarter's revenue of 106.5 billion yuan, a new high in the group's single quarter, and 111.6 billion yuan in the second quarter, exceeding 100 billion yuan for the first time for two consecutive quarters; The net profit attributable to the parent company was 20.8 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 14%. Midea's Smart Home (ToC) and Commercial & Industrial Solutions (ToB) businesses grew by 11% and 6% year-on-year, respectively, while domestic and overseas revenues grew by 8% and 13% year-on-year, once again demonstrating the strong momentum of the new cycle.
Accelerate the construction of new quality productivity, and the ToB industry continues to grow steadily
In recent years, Midea has continued to deepen the development strategy of paying equal attention to the ToC and ToB industries, and has achieved remarkable results, promoting the upgrade from traditional hardware product portfolios to scenario-based solutions, accelerating the construction of new quality productivity, and promoting industrial upgrading with technology. According to the report, Midea's commercial and industrial solutions revenue increased by 6% year-on-year, of which new energy and industrial technology revenue was 17.1 billion yuan, intelligent building technology revenue was 15.7 billion yuan, and robotics and automation revenue was 13.9 billion yuan.
The new energy and industrial technology business continued to deepen its strength in the advantageous sectors. In the field of "green energy", Hekang New Energy's photovoltaic EPC business has grown rapidly; CLOU Electronics was awarded the "Global First-Class Energy Storage Manufacturer" for its excellent system integration capabilities, product innovation capabilities and energy storage commercial application capabilities. In the field of "industrial core components", Midea's household air conditioning compressors account for 45% of the global market, ranking first in the world; GMCC Metchi rotor compressor won the first prize of scientific and technological progress of the China Light Industry Federation in 2023 for the project of "Research and Industrialization of Key Technologies of High Adaptability Silent Inverter Compressor".
The smart building technology business continued to grow steadily. In terms of HVAC equipment, Midea's central air conditioning sales scale ranks first in the domestic industry, the market share of multi-line and modular machines ranks first in the domestic industry, and the sales volume of centrifuges surpasses that of foreign head brands and ranks first in the domestic industry; In terms of building control, it has helped more than 100,000 buildings around the world achieve green upgrades, covering multiple industry scenarios such as industrial and agricultural production, commercial services, airport rail transit, and medical care.
The robotics and automation business further strengthened its localization development. KUKA is actively exploring the application of AI in industry by promoting product innovation and service enhancement by launching an omnidirectional heavy-duty AMR robot that combines laser SLAM and QR code navigation technology, and releasing a new version of software that combines augmented reality (AR) technology.
Deepen the "global breakthrough" and improve the ability of overseas localized operations
In overseas markets, Midea adheres to the OBM priority strategy to accelerate the development of overseas private label business. During the reporting period, the revenue of its own brand business increased significantly, of which the revenue of e-commerce increased by more than 50% year-on-year.
By deeply integrating into the local market, Midea brings better products and services to consumers around the world. In the first half of 2024, the number of newly registered overseas users of Midea's smart home application will exceed 1 million, and the number of registered users will reach 3.1 million. The business covers more than 200 countries and regions, serving about 500 million users around the world.
In order to improve its overseas localization operation capabilities, Midea has continuously strengthened the localization layout of the whole value chain such as R&D, manufacturing, marketing, and services, and improved infrastructure and capacity building. Promote the smooth operation of manufacturing bases in 4 countries and the construction of new factories in 4 production bases, and promote collaborative support between domestic factories and overseas factories on the manufacturing side. Up to now, Midea has established 33 R&D centers and 43 major manufacturing bases in more than 10 countries.
With "leading technology" as the foundation, we will firmly invest in R&D
Midea adheres to the core strategy of "leading science and technology" and continuously increases R&D investment. In the past five years, Midea Group's R&D investment has been close to 60 billion yuan, showing a continuous growth trend. Among them, the R&D investment in the first half of this year was 7.66 billion, a year-on-year increase of 15.91%.
Midea has actively expanded and laid out major common projects such as next-generation refrigeration, next-generation deodorization, the world's highest energy efficiency, air source heat pumps, and energy storage, and comprehensively built the world's leading R&D capabilities, and won a number of honors. 26 technical achievements, such as "Key Technology of AI Data-driven Frequency Conversion Control" and "Graphene Modified Anticorrosive Coating Technology", have passed the appraisal of international leading/advanced achievements; "High-efficiency heat pump technology" has won the first prize of provincial scientific and technological progress and the second prize of national scientific and technological progress; 30 achievements, including the key technology of phase change cold storage, won the provincial and ministerial science and technology progress award. Up to now, Midea has 16 national science and technology innovation platforms, and has won 4 national science and technology awards, more than 470 provincial and ministerial science and technology awards, and more than 340 international leading/advanced achievement appraisals.
In the field of patents, Midea has more than 5,000 newly authorized patents, and the cumulative number of patents authorized and maintained exceeds 80,000, ranking eighth in the world and first among Chinese private enterprises in terms of patent family holdings. In terms of standards, we will further promote the implementation of the "3+1" standardization strategy of "innovation patenting, patent standardization, internationalization of standards, and beauty standards going global", and transform innovation achievements into advanced technology standards.
"Green Strategy" for sustainable development and protection of the blue planet
Midea actively responds to the global trend of sustainable development, attaches great importance to environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG), and regards "green strategy" as an important direction of enterprise development. Released ESG reports for three consecutive years, starting from the four dimensions of "protecting the blue planet, building a harmonious community, practicing science and technology, and creating a prosperous ecology", to build a green future with global users.
In 2023, Midea will invest more than 132 million yuan in energy conservation and emission reduction, promote a total of 1,875 energy-saving projects, and 28 factories will be recognized as national green factories. In addition, Midea has also invested 8 billion yuan this year to carry out the "Green Action for New" activity, aiming to promote the popularization of green and low-carbon consumption patterns through the power of science and technology and excellent services, and inject strong impetus into the healthy and sustainable development of the industrial chain. In addition, Midea has been included in the Fortune China ESG Influence List for two consecutive years, and will continue to deepen its "green strategy" in the future, strengthen ESG management, and exert influence on the healthy and sustainable development of the industrial chain.