Segway-Ninebot (九号公司, 689009.SH), a Chinese producer of short-distance transportation tools and robots, has released its financial statement for the first half of this year.
The company reported revenue of 4.38 billion yuan (US$601 million), down 9.13% year on year. The net profit attributable to shareholders slid 12.97% from the same period last year to 222 million yuan.
Notably, its fledgling robot business skyrocketed 474% to 135 million yuan in revenue. Mowing robots represent the bulk of the sales, grossing 108 million yuan for 17,100 units sold.
Amid an aging population and increasing demand from healthcare and public services sectors, robots are poised to become a long-term substitute for human labor in certain sections of society.
Therefore, service robots have huge market potential, prompting mobility tool providers like Segway-Ninebot to seek a foothold in the sector.
The company has come up with a variety of robots catering to different scenarios, including its restaurant servebot S1 and outdoor delivery robot E1, and more.
The robotics arm of Segway-Ninebot said that it had partnered with mainstream hotel brands like Hilton, Marriott, Jinjiang Group, Sunmei, GreenTree Hospitality and Atour Group. Its robots have completed order delivery for close to 10 million times.
Photo courtesy of Segway-Ninebot
In recent months, Segway-Ninebot also began working with Nvidia to supply its robotic chassis known as RMP Mobile Robot Platform Kit.
Aside from the robotic unit, which still contributes a mere fraction of revenue, its main business smart e-scooter saw 540,300 units sold, generating 1.575 billion yuan, up 69.44%.
In addition, it sold 397,300 kick scooters under its own brand for 849 million yuan and 7,557 Gokart all-terrain vehicles for 284 million yuan.
Meanwhile, Segway-Ninebot’s revenue in 23H1 was almost evenly split between its home and overseas markets, at 52.2% and 48.8%, respectively.
