After 4 months, the " hyaluronic acid king" Amic (300896.SZ) once again sprinted into the Hong Kong stock market.
In July last year, Amic made its first impact on the Hong Kong IPO. In February this year, the application materials for listing in Hong Kong became invalid. However, recently, the company disclosed that it had resubmitted its application for this issuance and listing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on June 27 this year, and published the application information for this issuance and listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange website on the same day.
The fierce competition in the medical aesthetics track is in full swing. It remains to be seen whether Amike can win the title of the first "A+H" listed medical aesthetics company. As of the close of trading on July 1,
’s stock price was at 590.96 yuan, down slightly by 1.51%, with a market value of 127.9 billion.
stock price has climbed to nearly a thousand yuan
Public information shows that Aimeike was founded in 2004 and is China's largest dermal filler supplier based on hyaluronic acid (commonly known as "hyaluronic acid").
In September 2020, the company was listed on the Growth Enterprise Market of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange , with an issue price of 118.27 yuan, but the stock price once climbed to more than 800 yuan, and it was known as the "Women's Moutai".
In July last year, Amic submitted application materials for the listing of overseas listed foreign shares (H shares) to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. However, public sources said that the material showed failure in February this year. According to
’s latest filing, the company plans to raise funds for investment, acquisitions, licensing arrangements, development and expansion of product pipelines, etc. What can be expected is that if it successfully lands on the Hong Kong stock market this time, Amic is expected to become the first "A+H" listed medical beauty company.
Judging from the past few years, Amic's financial data is quite eye-catching. The prospectus shows that the company's revenue increased from RMB 321.0 million in 2018 to RMB 1,447.9 million in 2021, with a compound annual growth rate of 65.2%. Net profit increased from RMB 116.0 million in 2018 to RMB 957.3 million in 2021, with a compound annual growth rate of 102.1%.
So, why does Aimeike, which is “not short of money”, rush into the Hong Kong stock market?
Zhongtai Securities believes that the current strategic expansion and matrix building have become the core development path of the leading medical aesthetics company. If Amic is successfully listed in Hong Kong this time, it will take a new step towards the international capital market and is expected to help the company acquire high-quality international medical aesthetics in the future. assets and strengthen the ability to expand the product matrix.
Essence Securities also said that in the medium to long term, if A+H is successfully listed, it can help the company obtain more external financing, further ease the company's financing constraints, and improve the efficiency of fund use. It can also objectively improve the quality of the company's information disclosure. , which is conducive to the company's mid- to long-term development.
In addition, when Amic submitted application materials for Hong Kong stocks last year, the outside world was concerned about the valuation environment of Hong Kong stocks at that time, fearing that it would cause dilutive pressure on the company's stock price. However, since this year, the market value and growth sectors of Hong Kong stocks have shown recovery, and the listing environment is better than last year.
The worry about a single product structure
is matched by high revenue, and the gross profit margin is soaring all the way. The prospectus shows that Amic’s gross profit margin increased from 87.2% in 2018 to 93.3% in 2021. This value may only be comparable to high-end liquor such as Moutai in the A-share market .
Regarding the increase in gross profit margin, Amic mainly attributed it to the ability to maintain competitive prices and effective cost control, as well as the reduction of the value-added tax rate applicable to their dermal filler products to 3.0% starting from 2019.
Driven by both the increase in gross profit margin and the decrease in the ratio of operating expenses to revenue, Amic's net profit margin increased from 36.1% in 2018 to 66.1% in 2021, which is simply the envy of many listed companies.
But with high profits attracting attention, hidden worries are also hidden.
Hyaluronic acid is the cornerstone of Amic, which has single-handedly pushed it to the leading position in the medical aesthetics market. According to the Frost & Sullivan Report, Amic is the largest supplier of hyaluronic acid-based dermal fillers in China in terms of sales volume in 2021, with a market share of 39.2%; in terms of sales volume in 2021, it is The second largest supplier of hyaluronic acid-based dermal fillers in China, with a market share of 21.3%, and the largest supplier of hyaluronic acid-based dermal fillers among all domestic companies in China, with a market share of 58.9%.
According to its prospectus , Amic has developed and commercialized 7 medical beauty products, of which 5 are hyaluronic acid-based dermal fillers, 1 poly-L-lactic acid-based dermal filler and 1 PPDO facial implant line products. Dermal filler products based on hyaluronic acid account for more than 98% of the company's total revenue.
However, the other side of high product concentration is the simplification of product structure.
Aimeike is also blunt about this. The company stated in its prospectus that the main driver of our revenue growth comes from the sales of a few major products. The inability of these products to achieve or maintain expected sales growth could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
R&D proportion declines
For listed companies, R&D always receives special attention from the outside world, and Amic is no exception.
Judging from the prospectus, most of Amic’s products are independently developed. In 2010, Amic launched the first domestic commercial dermal filler “Yimei” based on hyaluronic acid; in 2013, it launched the first domestic commercial dermal filler with long-lasting filling effect “ Baonida” "; in 2015, it launched the first domestic commercialized lidocaine dermal filler " Aifulai"; in 2017, it launched the first domestic commercialized dermal filler "Hi" for repairing neck lines Body”...
Currently, Amic’s main products under development include medical modified sodium hyaluronate gel products containing polyvinyl alcohol gel microspheres, and liraglutide injection. products under development, hyaluronidase for injection and deoxycholic acid drugs are all in the independent development stage.
From the financial data point of view, from 2018 to 2021, Amic's R&D expenditures were RMB 33.7 million, RMB 48.6 million, RMB 61.8 million and RMB 102.3 million respectively. Although
R&D expenditures have increased year by year, the proportion has stagnated or even declined. Data shows that from 2018 to 2021, Amic’s R&D expenditures accounted for 10.5%, 8.7%, 8.7% and 7.1% of revenue in the same period respectively.
In fact, compared with other medical beauty companies, this R&D ratio is not low, but it is not commensurate with its own high gross profit margin, which makes the outside world question that Amic does not pay enough attention to R&D investment.
Plus botulinum toxin market
According to the Frost & Sullivan Report, in terms of service revenue, the growth of China's medical beauty market from 2021 to 2030 is expected to account for 1/3 of the global market growth in the same period. The broad market prospects of
have made the medical beauty track highly recognized and sought after by capital. However, for Amic, a prominent problem lies in front of it: the market competition of hyaluronic acid, its product with a market value of hundreds of billions, is increasing. Increasingly stalemate. How does
maintain its competitive advantage? The botulinum toxin market seems to be a good extension.
Although the price of botulinum toxin is relatively transparent, it can be called the "taiwan balm in the medical beauty industry" and can be combined with hyaluronic acid, water light injection and other projects. Medical beauty institutions often provide a variety of "botulinum toxin matching packages" to attract traffic and expand guest.
Meanwhile, demand for Botox is booming. According to the Frost & Sullivan Report, in terms of sales (ex-factory price), the market size of botulinum toxin products has increased from RMB 1.9 billion in 2017 to RMB 4.6 billion in 2021, with an annual compound growth rate from 2017 to 2021 The growth rate is 25.6%.
Driven by the continuous development of medical cosmetic injection treatments and the increasing variety of this product, the market is expected to reach RMB 15.9 billion in 2026, with a compound annual growth rate of 28.0% from 2021 to 2026, and will reach 2030 RMB 39 billion, with a compound annual growth rate of 25.1% from 2026 to 2030.
Amic began to set its sights on the botulinum toxin market. In June 2021, Amic made a huge investment to acquire Huons BioPharma, increasing its focus on the botulinum toxin track. It is still unclear whether this newly entered track of
can help Aimeike successfully list on the Hong Kong stock market, and whether it can help this hyaluronic acid giant continue to write the myth of wealth.
Written and written by: Nanduwan Financial News reporter Wang Yufeng
