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leading surgical robotminimally invasive robotics (02252.hk) released its latest financial report. thanks to the sales growth of its core product "touma laparoscopic surgery robot", the company's revenue in the first half of 2024 reached 99 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 108.5%; through substantial cost reductions, the company's net loss in the first half of the year has dropped from 545 million yuan in the same period of 2023 to 280 million yuan.

the results of cost reduction include a 61.2% year-on-year decrease in administrative expenses and a 47.3% decrease in r&d costs. in addition, the losses of investee companies accounted for under the equity method have also decreased, with a loss of 9.8 million yuan in the first half of this year, a decrease of 41.6%. however, microport robotics conducted an impairment test on its equity investment in its investment company robocath, and due to the delay in robocath's commercialization process and recent poor financial performance, it has set aside approximately 15.7 million yuan in impairment provisions.

the main driving force is the laparoscopic surgical robot of tumai, the core product of minimally invasive robots. according to the disclosure, tumai has achieved commercial installation in 20 hospitals in the domestic market, ranking first in the market share of domestic laparoscopic surgical robots. tumai has been approved by nmpa and covers multi-department applications. as of the reporting period, tumai has completed more than 1,300 clinical surgeries in china.

overseas, in may 2024, tumai successfully obtained the eu ce certification, becoming the first and only domestically produced laparoscopic surgical robot to obtain this certification. subsequently, tumai also made breakthroughs in the overseas market, successfully completing the first two commercial installations, and the cumulative overseas market orders exceeded ten. the company has established nearly 40 tumai clinical application and training centers around the world, and completed more than 100 surgeon certification trainings during the reporting period.

in addition, the newly promoted r-one vascular interventional robot achieved its first two commercial installations in the chinese market in the first half of the year, demonstrating the company's technological layout in the vascular field.

currently, other core products of minimally invasive robots include: touma single-arm laparoscopic surgical robot (the robot arm is flexibly designed to adapt to operations in narrow spaces, achieves seven degrees of freedom, and provides more precise operating capabilities than multi-arm robots. it is currently under nmpa review), dragonfly eye (a high-resolution three-dimensional electronic laparoscope that provides a three-dimensional surgical field of view. it obtained the nmpa listing registration certificate in 2021), and honghu orthopedic surgical robot (an orthopedic surgical robot system that integrates personalized surgical planning and precise surgical execution. it has obtained multiple certifications including the fda's 510(k) certification and the eu ce certification).

although minimally invasive robotics has been launched and its research and development projects are progressing well, marketing, r&d activities and large-scale production all rely on continuous investment, and the company is still facing great financial pressure. for example, minimally invasive robotics' cash and cash equivalents will decrease from 508 million yuan at the end of 2023 to 221 million yuan in mid-2024. in the short term, the company's financing needs are urgent. in addition, as of june 30, 2024, minimally invasive robotics' total inventory was 243 million yuan, indicating that the company's product sales may be lower than expected.

the surgical robot industry is still in its early stages of development in china and enjoys policy dividends, with huge room for growth. according to the "14th five-year plan" national health plan, the chinese government encourages cutting-edge technologies and breakthroughs in the medical field and supports independent innovation and commercialization of high-end medical equipment. the 2023 government-issued catalog of large medical equipment configuration licensing management and the "14th five-year plan" large medical equipment configuration planning notice both clearly increase the number of laparoscopic surgical systems.

by combining new technologies such as 5g communications and artificial intelligence, china's domestic surgical robots have made major breakthroughs in core technologies and enhanced their market competitiveness. with the promotion of internationalization strategy, enterprises are encouraged to "go global" and participate in global market competition, which is expected to accelerate the expansion of domestic surgical robots in the international market. the performance of the company's products in overseas markets is worthy of attention.