Delaware
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001-38273
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94-3290283
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(State or Other
Jurisdiction of Incorporation)
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(Commission
File Number)
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(IRS Employer
Identification No.)
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42307 Osgood Road, Suite I
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Fremont,
California
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94539
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(Address of Principal Executive Offices)
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(Zip Code)
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Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)
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Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)
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Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
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Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))
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Title of each class
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Trading symbol
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Name of each exchange on which registered
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Class A Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share
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ACMR
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The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC
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Item 8.01 |
Other Events.
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Item 9.01 |
Financial Statements and Exhibits.
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(d) |
Exhibits.
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Exhibit
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Description
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Record of March 2024 Investor Relations Activity filed by ACM Research (Shanghai), Inc. with the Shanghai Stock Exchange on March 12, 2024
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104
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Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the XBRL document)
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ACM RESEARCH, INC.
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By:
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/s/ Mark McKechnie
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Mark McKechnie
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Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer
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Dated: March 21, 2024
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Stock Code: 688082 | Short Name: ACMSH |
Categories of investor
relations activities
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☐Specific object survey □Analyst meeting
☐Media interview √ Performance briefing
☐Press conference □Roadshow
☐Site visit □Others
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Date
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March 7, 2024
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Venue
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Conference call
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Participants of the
listed company
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Chairman: HUI WANG
General Manager: JIAN WANG
Person in Charge of Financial Matters: LISA YI LU FENG
Board Secretary: MINGZHU LUO
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Summary of investor relations activities
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I. Company Introduction: Leaders of ACM Research (Shanghai),
Inc. (the “Company”) gave a brief introduction to the Company’s 2023 annual performance and financial position and responded to concerns of investors.
II. Q&A
1. What is the current status of new orders for the Company?
A: In general, the Company targets to
disclose backlog orders in the third or fourth quarter of each year. In terms of shipments, the growth rate of shipments in 2024 is expected to exceed the growth rate of revenue, primarily because some customers have postponed their
deliveries from the previous year to this year. Therefore, the Company’s shipment performance in 2024 is expected to be strong.
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2. The Company has set revenue guidance for 2024 at RMB 5-5.8 billion. What are the primary drivers for the Company’s revenue growth in 2024?
A: The growth in the Company’s revenue
is influenced by various factors, including advancements in manufacturing process and developments in the storage and logic sectors, all of which play a significant role in boosting revenue. As of now, we believe the outlook for China’s
semiconductor equipment market in 2024 is positive, with both China’s top and second- and third-tier manufacturers showing strong order demand. In addition, we believe the launch of new products and the expansion into overseas markets
represent good opportunity for revenue growth.
3. The Company’s gross margin remained elevated due to the sales of ECP
equipment in 2023. What is the trend expected for the gross margin in 2024? In addition, what is the main reason for the relatively lower
revenue recognition from the single-wafer cleaning equipment and advanced packaging wet processing equipment in 2023?
A: In 2023, the increase in sales volume of the Company’s ECP equipment contributed to the improvement of gross margin, especially the front-end ECP equipment, which generally has a higher gross margin.
Looking ahead to 2024, we remain optimistic about continuing this trend, with ECP equipment expected to contribute a higher percentage mix of total sales. The Company received batch orders for advanced packaging equipment at the end of
2023, which we expect to contribute to 2024 revenue as the orders are gradually delivered. Our cleaning equipment remains a large proportion of sales revenue and holds a relatively high market share in China. Given such a large revenue
base, we expect a relatively lower growth rate for the cleaning category.
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4. What are the specific differences between revenue recognition for the Company in the A-shares market and ACMR in the US stock market, from
the viewpoint of the financial report?
A: Regarding the Company, its revenue is
recognized after verification and acceptance, typically within about two months after the equipment has been delivered to customers. As for the Company’s controlling shareholder, ACMR, in accordance with applicable U.S. accounting
standards, its revenue from repeat orders of equipment is recognized upon delivery. However, revenue of first tools is recognized upon customer acceptance/qualification of the tool.
5. What is the approximate percentage of overseas revenue in the Company’s 2024 revenue guidance of RMB 5-5.8 billion?
A: We expect that the majority of our
revenue will continue to be derived from the Chinese market, with the contribution from overseas revenue remaining comparatively minor.
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6. The Company’s gross margin from international business revenue significantly exceeds that from the Chinese market business. As the Company
progresses in internationalization efforts, will there continue to be substantial differences in gross margins for the same products between the Chinese market and the international market?
A: The Company’s gross margin is primarily affected by the relative mix of its product portfolio as a percentage of total sales. We believe the different mix of
product portfolios as a percentage of total sales in the Chinese and international markets will likely be the main factor of differences in gross margins between these markets.
7. The proportion of R&D investments by the Company in 2023 has increased by more than two percentage points compared to last year. What
about the proportion of subsequent R&D expenses of the Company?
A: The proportion of the Company’s
subsequent R&D expenses is expected to be approximately 15%-16%.
8. What is the Company’s strategy for expanding its high-end advanced packaging capacity in China? What’s your feel after engaging with top
Chinese and foreign advanced packaging customers?
A: Currently, we believe investment in
China’s advanced packaging sector tends toward high-end fields. We believe the surge in demand for AI chips, along with increasingly higher packaging requirements, are constantly driving transformation of advanced packaging enterprises to
high-end ones. In response, the Company is actively developing new equipment and has garnered interest from both domestic and international customers. Through engagement with top customers both at home and abroad, we believe they are all
highly focused on the development of high-end advanced packaging. This is primarily because product structures are evolving in response to changes in downstream market demand.
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9. Besides new products like Track and PECVD equipment, does the Company plan to develop other types of new equipment within the platform
development framework?
A: The Company’s current product lineup
includes cleaning equipment, semiconductor ECP equipment, vertical furnace tube series equipment, front-end coating and imaging Track equipment, plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) equipment, stress-free polishing equipment,
back-end advanced packaging process equipment, and silicon substrate manufacturing process equipment, with Track and PECVD equipment being the latest additions. Currently, the Company does not plan to develop other new types of equipment.
This is primarily because we are focusing on stable development, accelerating the verification of Track and PECVD equipment, and pursuing new customer development to achieve sales revenue. Meanwhile, the Company intends to continue to
enhance and optimize existing equipment and enrich product categories through further development, with the view to efficiently utilize resources. The Company also intends to grow stronger through strategic, high-quality M&As.
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10. What is the status of the Company’s TSV electroplating equipment orders?
A: The Company has received repeat
orders for TSV electroplating equipment from many customers. Orders for TSV electroplating equipment began to improve in the second half of last year and are expected to maintain high market demand this year.
11. What is the coverage rate of the Company’s cleaning equipment in terms of process steps? How is the progress of new cleaning equipment
launched by the Company over the past two years? The Company aims to achieve a 55%-60% market share in the long-term cleaning equipment market in China. How is this objective being met?
A: One of the Company’s earliest
products was ultrasonic cleaning equipment, utilized in the single-wafer cleaning process. This cleaning process was the first of its kind developed by the Company and has been globally patented. Subsequently, the Company has introduced
various cleaning equipment, including backside cleaning, edge etching cleaning, single-wafer high-temperature SPM, supercritical CO2 cleaning, and single-wafer and wet-bench combination cleaning equipment.
At present, the Company’s cleaning equipment covers approximately 90%-95% of cleaning steps, which we believe makes us one of the manufacturers with the widest
coverage around the world. Also, the Company keeps improving and optimizing its existing cleaning equipment. With these improvements and ongoing market expansion, we believe that the Company can reach the target market share of 55%-60% in the
Chinese market.
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12. Cleaning equipment represented nearly 70% of the Company’s 2023 revenue. Based on current orders, what changes are expected in the product
structure of the Company’s 2024 revenue?
A: In the Company’s 2024 revenue
structure, cleaning equipment is expected to remain the primary source of revenue, followed by copper plating equipment and furnace tube equipment as the second, and packaging equipment as the third. These three segments are the Company’s
flagship products. Vertical furnace tube equipment is expected to contribute to 2024 revenue. The other two new products, Track equipment and PECVD equipment, are expected to start contributing to revenue from 2025.
13. What is the Company’s approach to the future price trends of semiconductor equipment?
A: In the semiconductor equipment
industry, high-precision equipment or products that only a few manufactures can produce tend to maintain relatively higher prices. However, for equipment with lower technical barriers, the competition is fierce, resulting in a lower profit
margin. Conversely, equipment with high technical barriers and production challenges tends to yield a higher profit margin. This reflects the pricing landscape in the semiconductor equipment industry.
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