The 'top dog' among industrial robots: turning profitable in 2025

Nanjing Estun Automation Co., Ltd. (002747.SZ) recently released its 2025 Annual Report and 2026 First-Quarter Report, delivering a comprehensive improvement in performance. Meanwhile, the company continues to expand its presence in the embodied AI robotics sector, launching multiple intelligent new products in 2026 and accelerating the deep integration of robotics and AI technologies. 01 Industrial Robot Shipments Top the Chinese Market for the First Time According to its annual report, Estun achieved RMB 4.888 billion in revenue in 2025, an increase of 21.93% year-on-year; net profit attributable to shareholders stood at RMB 44.97 million—turning from a RMB 810 million loss in 2024 to profitability, representing a YoY growth of 105.55%. By product category, revenue from industrial robots and intelligent manufacturing systems reached RMB 3.997 billion, surging 31.80% year-on-year and accounting for 81.77% of total revenue—establishing itself as the company’s core growth driver. Revenue from automation core components and motion control systems amounted to RMB 891 million, down 8.72% year-on-year. Notably, according to MIR睿 Industrial data, Estun shipped 33,400 industrial robots in 2025, capturing a 10.0% market share—the first time it has surpassed foreign brands to rank No. 1 in China’s industrial robot market. The company has held the top position among domestic industrial robot manufacturers for eight consecutive years. Its operating cash flow net amount reached RMB 507 million in the period, up 788.37% year-on-year—a record high. The first-quarter report, disclosed on April 30, shows that Estun achieved RMB 1.217 billion in revenue and RMB 97.84 million in net profit attributable to shareholders in Q1 2026, up 674.64% year-on-year. Profitability continued strengthening, with gross margin reaching 30.39% in Q1—up 2.13 percentage points year-on-year. As an enterprise covering the full industrial chain—from core components, to robot bodies, to integrated solutions—Estun’s sustained R&D investment constitutes a critical pillar of its competitiveness. In 2025, the company invested RMB 476 million in R&D, representing 9.74% of its revenue. Its product portfolio now covers 96 models of industrial robots, spanning payloads from 3 kg to 1,200 kg. In the collaborative robot segment, Estun’s COZUO series saw shipment growth exceeding 270% in 2025; shipments in Q1 2026 rose over 40% year-on-year. The series has been scaled across 107 application scenarios and deployed in over 370 factories—making it one of the fastest-growing domestic collaborative robot brands.

Estun: After Reaching the Summit, Its Profitability Foundation Remains Under Scrutiny

In 2025, goodwill impairment losses totaled approximately RMB 172 million, primarily tied to underperformance of overseas subsidiaries acquired by Estun—including Germany’s Cloos and the UK’s Trio. Inventory write-downs and impairment losses on contract fulfillment costs also amounted to roughly RMB 172 million. Together, these two items accounted for the vast majority of the company’s total asset impairment losses for the year. Additionally, bad debt losses on accounts receivable totaled about RMB 10.09 million—another major drag on profits in prior years. It should be noted that non-recurring gains and losses in 2025 totaled RMB 37.69 million, mainly comprising: RMB 24.03 million in gains from changes in fair value of financial assets; RMB 16.42 million in reversals of individually tested impairment provisions on accounts receivable; and RMB 11.35 million in government subsidies. Excluding non-recurring items, net profit attributable to shareholders was only RMB 7.28 million—indicating that the underlying profitability of core operations falls far short of the headline net profit figure. Q1 2026: Revenue stood at RMB 1.217 billion (down 2.22% YoY); net profit attributable to shareholders was RMB 98 million (up 674.64% YoY); and net profit excluding non-recurring items was RMB 19 million (up 364.53% YoY). The sharp rise in net profit attributable to shareholders was largely driven by the reclassification of Estun’s 3% equity stake in Nanjing Process Equipment into a 1.89% stake in Nanjing Chemical Fiber via an asset restructuring—resulting in a RMB 86 million gain recognized in current earnings per the Q1 financial statements. This gain is a one-time, non-recurring item. Excluding such one-off gains, adjusted net profit stood at RMB 19.36 million—up significantly from RMB 4.17 million in the same period last year—demonstrating that core operational performance remains on a steady recovery path. IV. Industry Position and Key Competitors Per MIR睿 Industrial’s 2025 industry statistics, Estun’s industrial robot shipments surpassed those of foreign brands for the first time, ranking No. 1 in the overall Chinese market (including both domestic and foreign players). In 2025, Estun captured approximately 10.5% of the domestic market by volume, with annual shipments growing ~25% YoY. In terms of shipment volume, Estun ranked first, followed by FANUC (second), KUKA (the European company acquired by Midea Group, third), INOVANCE (fourth), and ABB (fifth). Estun has held the top spot among domestic robot manufacturers for eight consecutive years. However, Estun lags significantly behind INOVANCE in overall revenue scale. It should be noted that INOVANCE’s business scope extends far beyond robot bodies—it covers the full spectrum of industrial automation (including inverters, servo systems, PLCs, and new-energy vehicle electric drive systems), whereas Estun focuses primarily on robot bodies and automation core components. Thus, direct comparisons of total revenue between the two firms reflect differences in business breadth rather than competitiveness within the robotics segment alone. According to their respective 2025 annual reports: INOVANCE reported RMB 45.105 billion in revenue and RMB 5.05 billion in net profit attributable to shareholders; Estun reported RMB 4.888 billion in revenue—about 10.8% of INOVANCE’s—and net profit of roughly 0.9% of INOVANCE’s. Other key competitors include FANUC, KUKA, ABB, and Yaskawa Electric—four long-established global leaders who have historically dominated China’s industrial robot market.

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