Pinzhun Laser's IPO Faces Questions

By: Li Li, researcher, Hengheng Caijing IQHCJ

Edited by: Xu Hui

Shanghai Precise Laser Technology Co., Ltd. ("Precise Laser"), which is about to open its subscription, plans to list on the STAR Market, with China Securities as its sponsor. The company plans to issue no more than 10.00 million new shares (excluding shares issued under the over-allotment option), accounting for at least 25.00% of the total share capital after the offering. It plans to raise RMB 1.41 billion for a precision laser system industrialization project, an R&D center project, a Wuhan R&D center project, and working capital.

Precise Laser's actual controller holds more than 60% of the company, with share-based payments totaling tens of millions of yuan; net profit growth has slowed, gross margin is twice the industry average, and nearly 10 million yuan was spent buying patents; customers include universities, research institutes and enterprises, with some reliance on imports in procurement; large cash holdings are used for wealth management, yet the company still seeks to raise funds for working capital.

Actual controller holds over 60%, share-based payments total tens of millions of yuan

The company was formerly Shanghai Precise Laser Technology Co., Ltd., which was established on November 10, 2017. On October 30, 2017, Zhang Lei, Liu Liwei and Jiang Huawei jointly signed the Articles of Association of Shanghai Precise Laser Technology Co., Ltd., stipulating registered capital of RMB 1 million, with Zhang Lei subscribing RMB 480,000, Liu Liwei RMB 480,000 and Jiang Huawei RMB 40,000, all in cash. On November 12, 2024, the shareholders' meeting of Precise Laser Co., Ltd. resolved to convert the company as a whole into a joint-stock company with May 31, 2024 as the reference date.

As of the signing date of the prospectus, Mr. Zhang Lei directly holds 54.71% of the company's equity and controls 7.33% through Shanghai Guangtuan. In total, Mr. Zhang Lei controls 62.04% of the company's equity, making him the controlling shareholder and actual controller.

As of the signing date of the prospectus, the company has two employee share ownership platforms, Shanghai Guangtuan and Shanghai Yuguang, both of which have the company's actual controller, Zhang Lei, as their general partner and executive partner. Shanghai Guangtuan directly holds 2.1989 million shares of the company, representing 7.33%. By holding a 12.5045% interest in Shanghai Guangtuan, Shanghai Yuguang indirectly holds 0.9165% of the company's shares.

As employee share ownership platforms of the company, Shanghai Guangtuan and Shanghai Yuguang hold only shares in the company and have made no external investments in other entities. Their purpose upon establishment was not to entrust third parties to manage their assets or to accept third-party mandates to manage assets, and there is no situation in which they raise funds from qualified investors through non-public offerings to conduct equity investment activities. During the reporting period, equity incentives have been accounted for as share-based payments. For each period of the reporting period, the company recognized share-based payment expenses of RMB 1.3060 million, RMB 1.5520 million and RMB 5.1093 million, respectively, accounting for 1.95%, 1.20% and 2.85% of total profit. These proportions are relatively low and will not have a material impact on the company's total profit or net profit.

Worth noting for Caijing IQHCJ, independent director Ma Jianping received a warning letter from the Shanghai Regulatory Office of the China Securities Regulatory Commission in January 2025 in connection with the audit of the 2023 financial statements of GCL Energy Technology Co., Ltd.

Net profit growth slows, gross margin twice the industry average, nearly RMB 10 million spent on patents

Fuzhong Laser's main business is the R&D, production and sales of high-end precision lasers. The company's products focus on the quantum and semiconductor fields, serving major fundamental scientific research needs in China and abroad as well as import substitution in key semiconductor areas.

From 2023 to 2025, the company's revenue was RMB 147.7 million, RMB 291.9 million and RMB 417.9 million, respectively, while net profit was RMB 60.4636 million, RMB 115.6 million and RMB 159.4 million. Revenue doubled or rose sharply year after year, but net profit growth slowed.

For the first half of 2026, the company expects revenue of RMB 230 million to RMB 260 million, net profit attributable to owners of the parent of RMB 90 million to RMB 105 million, and net profit attributable to owners of the parent excluding non-recurring gains and losses of RMB 85 million to RMB 100 million, maintaining year-on-year growth in operating performance.

Quanheng Finance IQHCJ noted that the compound growth rate from 2023 to 2025 was 68.20%. The company's revenue has grown rapidly, but its overall scale remains relatively small and its ability to withstand risks is comparatively weak. The downstream scientific research market is also relatively limited, and the company's revenue CAGR slowed from 90.49% recorded for 2022 to 2024.

Pinzhun Laser's main business revenue comes primarily from laser product sales, accounting for more than 96% in each year. Its main products are precision lasers, which can be further divided into seed lasers, continuous-wave lasers, pulsed lasers and laser systems.

According to QYResearch data and the company's calculations, in 2024 the company held a 9.21% share of the global laser market for quantum technology and a 16.85% share of the domestic market. In 2024, the company generated RMB 75 million in revenue from the semiconductor sector, representing a 1.98% share of the domestic market. In quantum technology and semiconductor equipment, leading companies from Europe, the US and Japan still hold an advantage.

During the reporting period, overseas revenue accounted for 20.60%, 27.51% and 16.85% of Pinzhun Laser's main business revenue, respectively. The company's exports are mainly to the US and European markets, while its major domestic customers are also affected to varying degrees by international trade frictions.

During the reporting period, the company's gross margin from its principal business was 69.42%, 70.07%, and 69.32%, respectively. Compared with the average of comparable peers, the company's gross margin was far higher, nearly double.

At the end of each period during the reporting period, the total number of employees of Pinnacle Laser and its subsidiaries was 189, 330, and 516, respectively. At the end of the reporting period, there were 114 R&D staff, accounting for 22.09%; among them, 22 held master's degrees and 14 held doctoral degrees.

During the reporting period, the company's R&D expenses were RMB 22.1245 million, RMB 41.7086 million, and RMB 60.9998 million, respectively, representing 14.98%, 14.29%, and 14.60% of operating revenue. During the reporting period, employee compensation, direct materials, and depreciation and amortization together accounted for 91.04%, 94.56%, and 91.06% of R&D expenses, respectively, making them the main components of R&D spending.

Pinnacle Laser's intangible assets consist of patented technology and software. At the end of each period during the reporting period, the carrying value of the company's intangible assets was RMB 2.1538 million, RMB 11.9859 million, and RMB 10.9487 million, respectively, accounting for 5.64%, 15.95%, and 11.33% of non-current assets. The company's patented technology increased significantly in 2024, mainly due to the RMB 9.95 million purchase of CLBO crystal patents and corresponding technology from the Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Customers include universities, research institutes, and corporate organizations; procurement relies to some extent on imports

Driven by the semiconductor industry's urgent need for domestically produced precision laser sources, Fen Laser has launched precision laser products serving key customers including Customer B, Customer C, Customer D, Zhong'an Semiconductor, Angkun Vision and Customer G. This has advanced the localization of China's wafer fabrication equipment, metrology and inspection equipment, and stealth dicing equipment, enabling substitution for imported laser source products and contributing significantly to the stability of China's semiconductor supply chain and independent, controllable core technologies.

The company's main customers include universities, research institutes and enterprises. Its products are concentrated in quantum technology and semiconductor fields, used in processes such as quantum precision measurement, quantum computing, wafer manufacturing, wafer metrology and inspection, and wafer stealth dicing. From 2023 to 2025, the top five customers accounted for 40.60%, 33.24% and 36.87%, respectively.

Goods and services purchased externally by Precise Laser mainly include raw materials and contract processing services. The raw materials purchased by the company are mainly optical materials, electronic materials, mechanical materials and other materials, including standard and non-standard parts. Standard parts are purchased directly by the procurement department from qualified suppliers, such as chips, circuit boards and auxiliary materials. For non-standard parts such as structural components, gratings, lenses, optical fibers and crystals, the company generally makes customized purchases: it provides suppliers with design drawings or specifications, and purchases the finished parts after production is completed.

The company combines direct and indirect purchasing for raw materials. Raw materials sourced domestically are generally purchased directly from qualified suppliers. Indirect purchasing is conducted through domestic agents or traders.

During the reporting period, the main suppliers of Precise Laser included Advanced Fiber Resources, Yuchen Photonics, CETC, Thorlabs, Shandong Jiliang Information Technology Development Co., Ltd., Shanghai Aitao Information Technology Co., Ltd., Jianbing Technology, Laser Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (nLIGHT), and others. Shanghai Yuchen Photonics was founded in 2011 and has 4 insured employees; Shanghai Aitao Information Technology Co., Ltd. was founded in 2015, and its annual report shows 2 insured employees; Shandong Jiliang Information Technology Development Co., Ltd. was founded in 2021 and has 1 insured employee.

On the procurement side, because the domestic precision laser segment got off to a relatively late start, some components mainly use European, American and Japanese brands. Domestic brands have yet to establish mature supply for a small number of crystals and specialty chips in special specifications, leaving the company with a degree of import dependence. These components are mainly purchased directly from overseas manufacturers or their domestic distributors and traders.

Some countries have adopted, or may adopt in the future, trade protection measures such as higher tariffs and import and export restrictions. Although these measures have had a limited impact on the company's existing business, escalating international trade frictions or adverse changes in trade policies in countries or regions where the company's overseas customers or suppliers are located could hurt the export of its products. The company may also face risks of component shortages or sharp fluctuations in purchase prices, which could adversely affect its production and operations.

Large Sums Parked in Wealth Management Products, Yet Still Raising Funds to Supplement Working Capital

At the end of each reporting period, the carrying value of Pinzhun Laser's trading financial assets was RMB 0, RMB 40.2108 million and RMB 114.7 million, accounting for 0%, 9.23% and 17.54% of total current assets, respectively. At the end of 2024 and 2025, the company's trading financial assets consisted mainly of purchased bank wealth management products. In addition, the company paid cash dividends of RMB 20 million in 2025, while this fundraising includes RMB 250 million to supplement working capital. Having surplus cash for wealth management while making large dividend payments and share-based payments, and then raising a large sum to top up working capital, may be a concern for investors.

At the end of each reporting period, the carrying value of the company's accounts receivable was RMB 14.1790 million, RMB 39.4816 million and RMB 55.3010 million, representing 7.74%, 9.07% and 8.46% of current assets, respectively. As the company's business expanded, the carrying value of accounts receivable rose at the end of each reporting period, while its share of current assets remained stable from the end of 2023 to the end of 2025. However, the company has a relatively large amount of overdue receivables and a low post-period collection rate. As of March 31, 2026, the post-period collection rates for each period were 95.47%, 88.21% and 24.97%, respectively, while the overdue and uncollected ratios were 5.53%, 11.72% and 79.40%.

At the end of each reporting period, the company's inventory balances were RMB 106.6 million, RMB 170 million and RMB 249.4 million, of which inventory write-down provisions were RMB 1.6682 million, RMB 7.1134 million and RMB 21.5512 million, respectively. Both inventory balances and write-down provisions continued to grow.

Under the registration-based IPO system, IPO applicants should pay greater attention to disclosure quality, whether their operating metrics meet listing requirements, and the sustainability of their operations. Space is limited, and Quanheng Finance (iqhcj) cannot point out every issue one by one. This article is based entirely on sources and is intended only to remind stakeholders and investors of the corporate risks that warrant closer attention; it is not a comprehensive reference.

       Original title : Pinzhun Laser Parks Large Sums in Wealth Management Yet Still Raises Funds to Supplement Working Capital, Gross Margin Twice That of Peers, Spends Nearly RMB 10 Million on Patents