The world's largest case-handling robotics manufacturer has filed for a Hong Kong IPO, aiming to ride a wave of popularity for industrial robotic stocks

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Key Takeaways:

• Hai Robotics has filed to list in Hong Kong, reporting its revenue rose 36% year-on-year in the first nine months of 2025
• The company's liabilities have grown over the past three years, and its operating cash flow remains negative

Humanoid robot performances on this year's CCTV "Spring Festival Gala" – the world's most watched show broadcast each Lunar New Year's Eve – evoked awe among viewers, depicting a future world where such robots might soon replace humans for everyday tasks. But the reality is quite a bit different, with humanoid robots in workplaces still very much a work in progress – with lots of distance to cover.

Instead, practical considerations are a better gauge for picking robotic stocks, with commercialized products looking most attractive. Within that group, industrial or mobile robots look like one of the best bets for robotic-minded investors.

People investing in such stocks have been generally well rewarded. Shares of Geekplus(2590.HK), whose robots specialize in warehouse logistics, have climbed steadily since their Hong Kong debut last July, doubling at one point from an IPO price of HK$16.80. Despite a recent pullback, the stock remains up over 50% from the listing price. Now, the company's Shenzhen-based peer, Hai Robotics Innovation Group Co. Ltd., is hoping to follow down a similar path with its own IPO plan, according to its listing document filed with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange earlier this month.

The brains behind the company is Chen Yuqi, an electronic engineering graduate of Hong Kong Polytechnic University, who foresaw the big potential for robotics a decade ago. In his quest to figure out which products had the best chance at commercial viability, he personally visited more than 30 different warehouses in Beijing in 2015 to understand their operational workflows. That process ultimately led him to focus on warehousing robotics when he founded Hai Robotics in 2016.

Chen has set his company apart with its integrated autonomous case-handling robot (ACR) solutions. Those systems assist customers in increasing storage density, enhancing operational efficiency, accelerating order fulfillment and reducing operating costs. They use robots that are "designed to autonomously retrieve only the required cases from the rack and then transport those cases to workstations, using advanced sensors and algorithms," according to the prospectus.

The company's products have found customers in a wide range of sectors, including apparel, e-commerce, food and beverage, pharmaceuticals and consumer electronics, among others. By 2024, Hai Robotics was the world's largest ACR solutions provider, commanding more than 30% of the market, based on both revenue and shipment volume.

$460 million yuan in accumulated losses

Despite its solid credentials, Hai Robotics' financial performance has been a bit bumpier. Its revenue grew from 807 million yuan ($116.8 million) in 2023 to 1.36 billion yuan in 2024, but it also incurred massive losses of 1 billion yuan and 1.26 billion yuan in those two years, respectively. The trends continued in the first nine months of 2025, when its revenue rose 36% year-on-year to 1.26 billion yuan, but it still recorded a 589 million yuan loss.

The company suffers from persistently high expenses, especially for sales and distribution. Such costs amounted to 420 million yuan and 490 million yuan in 2023 and 2024, respectively. The amount continued to climb last year, rising 6% year-on-year to 386 million yuan.

Furthermore, the company's liabilities have been consistently rising since its founding, growing from 2.52 billion yuan in 2023 to 3.88 billion yuan by the end of last September. Its operating cash flow remained negative throughout that time, though the outflow fell from 482 million yuan in 2023 to 196 million yuan in 2024, before rising again to 286 million yuan in the first nine months of last year. As a result, Hai Robotics has had to rely on successive new cash infusions to sustain its operations.

Rapidly growing ACR market

While it remains unprofitable and its debt burden is still significant, Hai Robotics should benefit from burgeoning demand for ACR solutions. Third-party market data in its prospectus shows ACR solutions is the fastest-growing segment within the global warehousing picking automation solution market. ACR's penetration rate within this market is projected to rise from 2.6% in 2024 to 22.7% by 2030.

As it takes greater share, the ACR solutions market is expected to balloon from 4.4 billion yuan in 2024 to 91 billion yuan by 2030, representing 65.7% average annual growth over that time, according to the prospectus. As the market leader, Hai Robotics stands to benefit significantly. The company boasts a client base featuring some top-tier names, including sportswear brands Anta and Xtep, apparel seller Bosideng, electronics companies Lenovo and Philips, retailers Kohler and Sundan, and even leading logistics company SF Express.

Hai Robotics is also well positioned to sell its products globally. Its footprint covers most major markets, including the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Japan and the Asia-Pacific, with a presence in 40 countries and territories. About half of the company's orders currently originate from overseas, with international markets contributing close to 40% of its revenue.

Positioned at robotics forefront

While Hai Robotics remains loss-making, its loss in the first nine months of last year narrowed 40% year-on-year, showing it's gradually working its way toward profitability. What's more, the company's R&D spending as a percentage of revenue has been falling steadily from 38.3% in 2023 to 20.4% in the first nine months of last year as its business matures and revenue continues to grow. The actual R&D investment figure also fell from 309 million yuan to 258 million yuan over that time.

The company's gross profit margin has also been climbing steadily, rising from 16% in 2023 to 28.9% last year. The gross profit margin for its overseas business is even higher, consistently remaining above 40%.

That brings us back to Hai Robotics' IPO, and how it's likely to fare. In that regard, strong sentiment toward new listings should work in its favor, including particularly strong demand for robotics-related companies. Given China's policy support for this group and compelling narratives for their future growth, such companies should have little trouble attracting attention. Strong recent performance for numerous other robotics stocks will also help, meaning Hai Robotics' shares should face few obstacles when they make their debut.

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Benzinga Disclaimer: This article is from an unpaid external contributor. It does not represent Benzinga’s reporting and has not been edited for content or accuracy.