Dong Mingzhu Gree's shareholders' meeting voiced: Xiaomi's "air conditioning first" is untrue

CBN

2024-06-28 20:37CBN official account

On the afternoon of June 28, Gree Electric (000651. SZ) 2023 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders was held at the company's headquarters in Zhuhai, and more than 150 investors and agents from all over the country rushed to attend the meeting. Dong Mingzhu, chairman and president of Gree Electric Appliances, talked about the company's growth point in his opening speech and responded to some online remarks.

Recently, there have been some articles and short videos on the Internet saying that the sales of Xiaomi air conditioners have surpassed that of Gree air conditioners. Dong Mingzhu said at the shareholders' meeting that there have been many rumors fabricated on the Internet recently, and "we are constantly cracking down on fakes." She asked, Xiaomi said that it (air conditioner) ranked first, and it all depends on other manufacturers to make products, what is your technology? "Who is the first, consumers have rods and scales in their hearts".

Last year, the total revenue of Gree Electric Appliances exceeded 200 billion yuan again, and the net profit attributable to the parent exceeded 20 billion yuan, refreshing the best performance. This year, how to make further breakthroughs in Gree Electric has become a topic of concern to the outside world. Gree executives answered shareholders' questions on hot topics such as the company's growth points, channel changes, internationalization, rising copper prices, dividends, and challenges in the next ten years. Dong Mingzhu said that "dividends must be paid every year".

The growth point is in the refrigerator and washing machine

Dong Mingzhu said that this summer is not hot and rainy, which has a little impact on the air conditioning industry. Last year, Gree Electric Appliances faced various pressures, but achieved the best performance in history, which is a new starting point. In the face of this year's market pressure, Gree "air conditioning is home, to do the best, the growth point is in the refrigerator and washing machine".

Gree's photovoltaic air storage (photovoltaic, energy storage and air conditioning combined) products, air conditioners that do not blow people, flower refrigerators, heat pump washing and care machines, etc. are welcomed. Dong Mingzhu said that optical air storage products are favored in the Middle East, and she has already made two business trips to the Middle East this year. Optical air storage products can also be connected with other home appliances, and Gree has cooperated with home improvement companies.

In the field of the industrial sector, Dong Mingzhu said that Gree's CNC machine tool and robot business is still developing; Compressors, motors, capacitors and other businesses are also developing, compressors (except for Gree's own use) sales of more than billions of yuan, foreign companies have also begun to use Gree's parts; Gree Titanium Company has exported products, focusing on energy storage business, and has pilot models in data centers and other fields. Dong Mingzhu said that with the layout of these industrial chains, I believe that the efficiency of enterprises will be better.

This year, Gree promoted channel reform and planned to set up sales companies for refrigerators, washing machines and household appliances in various provinces, independent of air conditioning sales channels. On the 28th, Dong Mingzhu asked Lu Luqun, the newly appointed sales director of Gree Electric Appliances, to also come to the shareholders' meeting and said that Gree has a team to promote channel reform. In the era of big data, offline stores should also develop online, which has begun to be effective, but it still needs to change, and ultimately bring convenience to consumers, bring benefits to enterprises, and make dealers more at ease.

"This year, everyone said that it was more difficult, the merchants changed, the manufacturers changed, and everyone was worried." Dong Mingzhu believes that worrying is useless, and "creating more products that consumers need is the only way out". There is a lot of room in the foreign market, and the domestic market should replace the old products with new products, and the state is studying the service life of household appliances.

In the face of fierce competition, Dong Mingzhu said that after launching a ten-year free repair service for air conditioners, Gree is considering launching a free repair service in the field of refrigerators and washing machines according to the service life stipulated by the state. In addition, Gree has applied the technology of flower fresh-keeping refrigerators to popular refrigerators.

In terms of internationalization, Dong Mingzhu believes that seizing the opportunity must be automatic. In the past two years, Gree has basically used its own brand for exports, and I believe that it will "go faster" this year. Gree's export business is growing, in addition to exporting household air conditioners, it also exports central air conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines, and began to export.

At present, air conditioners will not "use aluminum instead of copper"

This year, the price of copper once rose to 88,000 yuan/ton, reaching a record high, and some core components of air conditioners, such as condensers and evaporators, use copper, so some investors are concerned about the impact of rising copper prices on Gree's profits.

"What should I do if the price of copper rises?" Dong Mingzhu said that aluminum is not guaranteed in terms of durability and stability. Without a 100% guarantee, you can't replace copper with aluminum. Once there is a problem after sale, consumers are miserable, and enterprises are also miserable. "Therefore, we should resolutely use copper at the moment, and I would rather make less money."

However, Gree Electric is also working on aluminum. "We do research on each component, and there are 700-800 people doing the standard. For the sake of sustainable development, short-term gains cannot be pursued. Dong Mingzhu said, for example, that the streets of Vietnam were full of Chinese motorcycles, but later they disappeared. When people's lives get better, they will put quality first. Whether to use aluminum instead of copper is one thing that enterprises choose seriously. "Maybe I'll retire next year, and I won't be able to leave a mess. Although there is pressure on the price of copper, it feels okay at present, and good companies should be responsible for users, shareholders, employees and the country. ”

"Copper is something we are anxious about, please rest assured, the price of copper has risen, and our profits are still good." Dong Mingzhu said.

Gree Titanium's current gross profit level is normal

In the field of new energy, Gree Electric acquired Yinlong New Energy a few years ago, and Yinlong New Energy was later renamed Gree Titanium New Energy. Greeti's loss last year was greatly reduced, but the competition in the new energy market is fierce, and whether Gree's titanium business will be contracted is concerned.

Deng Xiaobo, vice president and secretary of the board of directors of Gree Electric Appliances, said that Gree Titanium's revenue currently accounts for 2% of Gree Electric's total revenue. In 2023, Greti's revenue will increase by 50%, and the current business gross profit level is normal, but the company is still in a state of loss due to historical reasons.

At that time, Gree Electric acquired Yinlong because of its technical value and asset value. Deng Xiaobo said that at present, the demand for Gree Titanium's lithium titanate batteries is stable and the production is stable, and the application scenarios extend from buses to power grid side frequency modulation and other fields, providing stable income.

In terms of new energy vehicle business, Gree Titanium's product system, quality and economy have made great progress, and the sales volume of Gree Titanium's new energy vehicles increased by 50% last year, and the export volume in overseas markets exceeded 100 million US dollars.

"The next challenge is that the competition for the more general lithium iron phosphate battery is fierce, and we are already a qualified competitor in the competition of the energy storage business, and we got a number of head projects last year, and established a good relationship with core customers, but now the competition is too fierce, and this track is to expand the scale or maintain profits, which needs to be weighed." Deng Xiaobo said.

He also revealed that Gree Titanium currently has no large-scale investment plan, and the current revitalization of assets is enough to support this year's development.

The most important thing in the next decade is talent training

Some investors have noticed that Gree Electric has registered some real estate companies in Jiangxi and other places in recent years. Dong Mingzhu responded that Gree Electric does not do real estate, and set up real estate companies in some places in order to realize the commitment of "one person and one suite" for employees. I hope that every college student will have a suite when they join Gree Electric Appliances after graduation, and they will leave the house when they leave Gree Electric Appliances.

"What is the biggest challenge for Gree Electric in the next ten years and how to deal with it?" One investor asked the question. In this regard, Zhang Wei, director of Gree Electric Appliances, believes that the most important thing for Gree Electric Appliances in the future is the cultivation of talent teams.

Regarding the issue of dividends that shareholders are concerned about, Dong Mingzhu said, "We must pay dividends every year, but (there are) more (have) less, we can't eat them up or use them up, and the company's development and shareholders' interests must be taken into account."

(This article is from Yicai)

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