CHANGZHOU NRB CORPORATION Business Report FY ended Dec. 2016

Financial Overview

(in million CNY)
FY ended Dec. 31, 2016 FY ended Dec. 31, 2015 Rate of change Factors
Sales 1,112.32 543.93 104.50% -Tianjin Tanhas Technology Co., Ltd. merged into the Company's consolidation sheet.
Operating profit 63.81 35.09 81.85%
Ordinary profit 78.82 42.58 85.11%
Net profit 64.36 36.50 76.33%

Strategic Cooperation

-Hubei Taite Electromechanical announced that it will acquire a 100% stake in the Netherlands-based e-Traction B.V., Europe’s largest wheel motor manufacturer for new energy vehicles. Hubei Taite Electromechanical is affiliated with Tianjin Tanhas Technology Co., Ltd., which is a subsidiary of the Company. When the acquisition is completed, Hubei Taite Electromechanical will reorganize its business into three business segments. The company's Dutch unit will perform basic research and development to serve as a global development center. An application development center in Anting, Shanghai will pursue application research to localize production as well as market development. The Jingmen Plant will begin mass production at the end of 2017, aiming to produce 20,000 sets by 2018. (From news releases issued by multiple sources on December 5, 2016)

R&D Expenditure

(in million CNY)
FY ended Dec. 31, 2016 FY ended Dec. 31, 2015 FY ended Dec. 31, 2014
R&D Expenditure 46.05 27.41 21.83
Ration of total sales (%) 4.14 5.04 3.51

R&D Structure

-As of 2016, the Company had 357 R&D staff.

R&D Facilities

-The Company has two provincial engineering technology centers – Jiangsu Province Needle Roller Bearings Engineering Technology Research Center and Jiangsu Province Enterprise Technology Center. The technology center has six departments, namely, products research institute, technology institute, equipment research institute, information institute and test center. Test center has passed China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment (CNAS).

R&D Activity

-In 2016, the Company carried out 30 research project in total, 16 of them were yearly projects and 2 were research and production projects.

Product Development

-In 2016, the key wheel hub bearing projects:

  • Front wheel hub bearing for one SUV model passed customer's audit. The mass production was predicted in the second quarter in 2017.
  • Gen 3 front and rear wheel hub bearing for new energy vehicle entered the mass production stage.
  • Gen 3 front and rear wheel hub bearing for SUV began mass production in September 2016.
  • A new Gen 3 wheel bearing for new energy vehicles with four-wheel drive rear wheel was delivered to customer and passed customer's first round testing. The follow-up recognition work is in orderly advance.

-In 2016, the key bearing projects for AT:

  • Borgwarner DCT bearing project entered the PPAP stage and entered SOP small batch production.
  • Getrag's several DCTs project began mass production, other project finished PPAP test and entered small batch production stage.
  • SAIC transmission DCT360C project finished PPAP and began small batch production.
  • Dongan Mitsubishi AT project finished the test of B prototype and was predicted to mass production in the first quarter of 2017.
  • Shengrui 8AT project was at the stage of second round of test by customer.

-In 2016, the key bearing projects for MT:

  • SAIC GM NMT began mass production.
  • GAC transmission bearing project began mass production.
  • Tangshan Aisin F621A project began mass production.
  • Chongqing Tsingshan MR623 project began mass production; MR630 project was predicted to enter PPAP stage in December 2017.

-In 2016, the key clutch bearing (hydraulic) projects:

  • A-type hydrdaulic clutch release bearing passed test and was on the market in small quantities.
  • B-type hydraulic clutch release bearing has been completed trial production and is currently at the experimental verification stage. It is predicted to be on the market in the third quarter of 2017.

-In 2016, the key synchronizer projects:

  • 5MTT160 project for Getrag, certified by customers, is expected to be mass production in the third quarter of 2017.
  • 7DCT project for Geely, has been certified by customers, is expected to be mass production in the fourth quarter of 2017.

-In 2016, the key synchronizer planetary gear products project:

  • DQ400E project for VW, currently at customer's verification stage, is expected to be mass production in 2018.

Patents

-In 2016, the Company acquired 82 new valid patents in total, 5 of them were invention patents. As of Dec. 31, 2016, the Company had 206 patents in total, 25 of them were invention patents, 178 of them were new type patents and 3 design patents.

Capital Investment Projects

(As of Dec. 31, 2016)
Projects Planned amount of investment
(million yuan)
Amount invested in 2016
(million CNY)
Project progress
Auto precision bearing production line construction 306.20 0.42 49.73%
Test bench 2.45 1.27 51.94%
Precision forging plant 38.50 0.53 1.38%
Shot blasting workshop 5.00 5.36 107.12%