The Midea Group issued a quarterly report on the evening of April 27. In the first quarter of 2018, Midea Group achieved operating revenue of 69.738 billion yuan, an increase of 16.7% year-on-year; net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies was 5.256 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 20.76%.
This means that after the Midea Group broke through 200 billion yuan in revenue last year, it will continue to maintain a high growth rate this year. Grasping the trend of consumption upgrades, promoting high-end home appliance products, and expanding multiple services such as robotics are two key points. .
In terms of high-end products, Midea introduced innovative products such as dryers for free ironing, fresh drinks, and leafless fans this year. At the same time, Midea and European white giant Electrolux established a joint venture in China to jointly promote high-end appliances. The development of the branded AEG China business also laid down an important piece for Midea to seize the domestic high-end home appliance market.
In terms of diversification, Midea actively develops emerging businesses such as robotics. In March of this year, Midea announced that it will inject capital into the Chinese affiliate business of the German KUKA Group and set up three joint ventures to expand industrial robots, medical robots and warehouse automation. In the same month, Midea’s smart manufacturing industry base officially commenced construction in Shunde, Guangdong. The base will become an important part of Midea’s “Double Smart Strategy” landing, which is expected to boost China’s annual robot production capacity to exceed 100,000 units.
During the 2018 AWE (China Household Electrical Appliances and Consumer Electronics Expo) held in March this year, Midea put forward the development strategy of the “New Generation of Man-Machine”, trying hard to use big data and AI (Artificial Intelligence) as the driving force to give products, machines, and processes. The system's ability to perceive, recognize, understand and make decisions, achieve human-machine collaboration, and harmonious coexistence, create a better working and living environment.
From the financial data, the net cash flow generated by Midea Group’s operating activities in the first quarter of this year was RMB 4.4 billion, a decrease of 36.8% year-on-year. In response, Midea Group explained that it was mainly due to the increase in central bank deposits.