BOE’s operating revenue increased 12.65% YoY in Q3 but decreased 4.69% YoY in the first three quarters. Reported net profit turned positive in Q3 at 286 million RMB ($39.1 millon), compared to a 1.3 billion RMB ($177.6 million) loss in Q3 2022. But net profit in the first three quarters is still down 80.68% YoY. Net profit before exceptional items is still negative in both Q3 and the first three quarters, but the losses have narrowed compared to 2022.
| Item | Q3’23 | Q3’22 | YoY change (%) | Q1-Q3 2023 | Q1-Q3 2022 | YoY change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating revenue (RMB) | 46,337,198,045.00 | 41,134,145,106.00 | 12.65% | 126,515,073,265.00 | 132,744,386,975.00 | -4.69% |
| Net profit attributable to the listed company’s shareholders (RMB) | 286,347,794.00 | -1,304,557,522.00 | – | 1,022,157,403.00 | 5,291,104,216.00 | -80.68% |
| Net profit attributable to the listed company’s shareholders before exceptional items (RMB) | 92,352,417.00 | -2,688,031,763.00 | – | -1,492,087,874.00 | 1,551,424,330.00 | -196.18% |
BOE’s overall revenue and profit has been improving quarter-over-quarter in 2023, indicating some recovery from earlier challenges. However, net profit before exceptional items is still down significantly in Q1-Q3 2023 versus 2022. This suggests underlying core business profitability has weakened.
In displays, BOE has highlighted key OLED smartphone wins with the likes of Oppo, OnePlus and Honor and also making progress in vehicle displays, esports monitors and VR displays. In flexible OLED displays, BOE claims to have hit a production milestone of 100 million screens in 2023 aand launched new products like the X1 2K flexible screen. In vehicle displays, BOE started mass production of its first BD Cell high-end automotive display in September for Aston Martin.
BOE continues to expand into new growth areas like IoT, smart terminals, sensing, healthcare etc. But these non-display businesses are still likely small. It is a mixed bag of initiatives and doesn’t really add much to the notion that BOE is a display company first and foremost, but there’s a lot of expectation being built around these plans. However, it’s worth noting that BOE’s healthcare segment, which provided screening services to nearly 160,000 people as of September according to the company, saw over 60% yearly growth in outpatient visits and over 75% in discharges.
As it has been for everyone, the macro environment has been challenging with inflation, weak consumer demand, supply chain issues etc. This continues to negatively impacting sales and margins. Slower growth in China’s economy and tech sectors is further adding to the decreased demand and profitability.
