Ningbo Joyson Electronic Corporation Business Report FY ended Dec. 2017

Financial Overview

(in million CNY)
FY ended Dec. 31, 2017 FY ended Dec. 31, 2016 Rate of change Factors
Sales 26,605.60 18,552.41 43.41%

-The Company's businesses maintained growth, even as it incurred expenses for KSS's acquisition of Takata and production increases for new products, and and suffered losses from U.S. tax reform policy.

Operating profit 1,047.56 759.69 37.89% -
Ordinary profit 996.20 809.49 23.07% -
Net profit 742.63 675.36 9.96% -



Contract

-In 2017, the Company obtained purchase orders of the CNS3.0 next-generation MQB mass production model that value CNY 4 billion from SAIC VW and FAW VW. The model will start mass production in 2019. (From the company's annual report in 2017)

-Key Safety Systems (KSS) and Preh GmbH, which are both group companies of Ningbo Joyson Electronic Corporation, will start supplying components for the Tesla Model 3, the model the automaker is planning to release soon. KSS will offer the latest safety systems and electronics technologies such as driver airbags, steering wheels, and battery charging system, and Preh intelligent drive control systems. (From some releases on July 4, 2017)

-Preh GmbH, the Company’s subsidiary in Germany, will supply its battery management system (BMS) to Mercedes-Benz for the automaker's new 48V mild hybrid vehicles. Preh has already launched the mass production of the BMS. Mercedes-Benz is now included in the list of global customers of Ningbo Joyson Electronic in the area of new energy vehicles. (From a press release on June 28, 2017)

Acquisition

-In June 2017, the Company announced that its subsidiary KSS Holdings, Inc. signed an understanding memorandum with Takata. It will acquire Takata's assets except for the ammonium nitrate gas generator business. In April 2018, the acquisition has been completed. (From a corperate announcement on June 26, 2017 and that on April 12, 2018)

-Ningbo Joyson Electronic Corporation announced on January 10, 2018, that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Ningbo Joyson Automotive Electronics Co., Ltd., acquired 25% shares in QUIN GmbH, at the cost of EUR 31.81 million and raised its stake in the German manufacturer to 100% from 75%. Ningbo Joyson Electronic acquired the 75% shares in QUIN in 2015. Since then, the company renovated a research and development center and plants of QUIN and built a new plant in Mexico. Through the acquisition of QUIN, the company believes it can enrich its product lineup, develop HMI, connected car, and ADAS products, and supply smart driving systems for automakers. (From a corporate announcement on January 10, 2018)

-Kongsberg announced that Preh, Ningbo Joyson Electronic's subsidiary in Germany, is acquiring “ePower”, a business unit of Kongsberg Automotive in Kongsberg, Norway. ePower was founded in 2011 in order to develop and market on-board chargers which are now in series production and used in the powertrain for electric and hybrid vehicles. ePower currently employs 20 people and has two development centersin Sweden. For Preh, the acquisition of ePower is a targeted strengthening of its own e-mobility activities. The contracting parties have agreed not to announce the purchase price. The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2017. As a global automotive supplier, the Preh Group employs more than 6,000 people and generates a turnover of well over EUR one billion. Preh was founded in 1919 in Germany and has been part of the Joyson Group since 2011. Preh's development and manufacturing expertise includes HMI systems for passenger cars and commercial vehicles, infotainment and connectivity solutions, as well as e-mobility control units. (From a press release on November 24, 2017)

Share Transfer

-The Company said on June 16, 2017, that it will transfer all shares in Preh IMA Automation GmbH, from Preh GmbH, one of Ningbo Joyson Electronic’s subsidiaries and the current owner of the shares, to PIA Automation Holding GmbH. at a transfer price which is expected to exceed EUR 130 million. As of June 16, Ningbo Joyson Electronic has already transferred 60% of the shares in Preh IMA Automation at a transfer price of EUR 78 million. The rest, which is 40%, is scheduled to be transferred in July 2017. (From a corporate announcement on June 16, 2017)

Investments

-Ningbo Joyson Electronic announced on November 6, 2017, a plan to make an additional investment of USD 400 million in Key Safety Systems Holdings, Inc. (KSS) together with Future Industry Investment Fund. Ningbo Joyson Electronic will invest USD 150 million and Future Industry Investment Fund USD 250 million. After the capital increase, KSS will be owned 84.85% by Ningbo Joyson Electronic, down from 100%, and 15.15% by Future Industry Investment Fund. KSS was established in 2003 and acquired by Ningbo Joyson Electronic in June 2016. Its principal business field is automotive safety system. (From a corporate announcement on November 6, 2017)

Strategic Alliance

-On May 4, 2018, the Company's subsidiary Ningbo Joyson Preh Intelligent Car Networking Co., Ltd. signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Morningcore Technology Co.,Ltd. The partners will develop smart vehicle connection technologies, create next-generation TBOX and Vehicle to X (V2X) in-vehicle electronics, and promote the existing smart IVI systems. They will develop automotive chips and terminal products by constructing R&D and industrial platforms for smart connected vehicles. Discussion on the Beidou system, Tiantong system, and wireless charging will also be conducted between the companies. (From news issued on May 8, 2018)

Sales Goal (as of Dec. 31, 2018)

-In 2018, the Company aims to achieve a total sales volumn of over CNY 50 billion.

Awards

-In 2017, Ningbo Preh Joyson Automotive Electronics Co., Ltd., the Company's subsidiary, received "SAIC VW Supplier Quility Performance Award" and "2017 SAIC GM Quality Award"; its subsidiary Germany Preh received "Partnership Supplier Award" from John Deere

-In April 2017, Preh GmbH, the Company's subsidiary in Germany, received "2016 Partnership Supplier Award" from Deere for the Company's top-quality HMI products.

Patent

-By the end of 2017, the Company has over 1,500 global patents and R&D personnel of over 3,000.

R&D Expenditure

FY ended Dec. 31, 2017
(million CNY)
FY ended Dec. 31, 2016
(million CNY)
FY ended Dec. 31, 2015
(million CNY)
R&D Expenditure 1,980.14 1,159.63 530.88
Ratio of R&D expenses to sales 7.44% 6.25% 6.57%



R&D Facilities

-The Company has R&D centers in Ningbo, Shanghai and Changchun. It has ability of synchronizing development with domestic and foreign customers. The research areas include:

  • Product modeling
  • Product design and development
  • Mold design and development
  • Tooling equipment design and development
  • Technology development
  • Hardware and software development
  • Electronic information development.


-KSS: There are three R&D centers in the world, which are located in Michigan, US, Suzhou, China and Seoul, Korea. R&D centers worked on internal, front and side-looking products. In addition, the company is expanding R&D centers of the active safety division of KSS and Preh intelligent vehicle division in China.

-Preh GmbH: The company has R&D functions in Germany, the United States, Romania and China. Preh opened a new research and development (R&D) center in Bad Neustadt an der Saale, Germany in April 2017. The core competence covers product design, structural design, hardware and software development and testing, sensor technology, industrial engineering and tooling technology, etc. The lab will focus on developing intelligent drive control systems and new-energy-vehicle power management systems.

-QUIN Germany: On March 8, 2018, the company completed construction for another global R&D center in Stuttgart, after the start of operation of its R&D center in Puri, Germany. The new center has an investment of EUR 10 million and cover a land of 4,400 sqm. The construction takes 27 months. The center will specialize in vehicle functional components and automotive electronics. It will enhance innovation development of QUIN Germany, a subsidiary of the Company. QUIN Germany is a global leading high-end supplier of vehicle functional powertrain systems. Its sales doubled after three years' acquisition by the Company. It will achieve double-digit sales growth in 2018. (From news issued on March 9, 2018)

-Joyson Electronic: On February 2, 2018, the Company's 232-acre new industrial city started operation. The city acts as the Company's smart driving and NEV industrial facility. It is also a trial demonstration project for smart manufacturing and industry Internet application authorized by the government. The facility features an R&D center, administration headquarters, and plants and can carry out NEV power management system research, development, and manufacturing, smart driving product manufacturing, smart connected vehicle manufacturing, and Joyson's security system manufacturing for Vision brand. It will mainly produce products such as HMIs and BMSs, which will be widely used in main models of automakers including BMW, Benz, VW, Ford, and GM. (From news issued on February 9, 2018)

Capital Expenditure

(in millions CNY)
Project Investment in 2017
Tooling -
Machinery and equipments 1,037.70
Decoration, renovation and other projects 107.44
Constrution project of new industrial city 125.32



Local Investments

-On December 14, 2017, the Company announced that it will raise CNY 3 billion for the following projects home and abroad: HMI production line domestic expansion project with an investment of CNY 735 million, to be constructed by Ningbo Preh Joyson Automotive Electronics Co., Ltd.; HMI production line expansion project in Germany with an investment of CNY 646 million, to be constructed by Preh GmbH; in-vehicle Internet connected system production line expansion project with an investment of CNY 1.16 billion, to be constructed by Ningbo Joyson Preh Intelligent Car Networking Co., Ltd.; high-end functional component production line domestic expansion project with an investment of CNY 220 million, to be constructed by Ningbo Joyson Automotive Electronics Co., Ltd.; high-end functional component production line expansion project in Romania with an investment of CNY 445 million, to be constructed by Quin Romania S.R.L; and the Shanghai Autonomous Driving R&D Technical Center construction project with an investment of CNY 546 million, to be constructed by Shanghai Joyson Bairui Autonomous Driving Research and Development Co., Ltd. (From a corporate announcement on December 14, 2017)