On November 2, fiber laser giant IPG Photonics released its third quarter report. According to the report, IPG achieved revenue of US$379 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2021, a year-on-year increase of 19%, and net profit of US$75 million, a year-on-year increase of 112%; gross profit margin was 49.0%, an increase of 1 percentage point from the third quarter of last year ( The gross profit margin in the third quarter of last year was 48.0%).

From January to September this year, IPG’s total revenue was US$1.096 billion, an increase of 27% year-on-year; net profit was US$213 million, an increase of 94% year-on-year; gross profit margin was 48.4%, an increase of 3 percentage points from January-September last year ( The gross profit margin in the first three quarters of last year was 45.4%).

Sales of high-power lasers have fallen, and handheld laser welding has increased significantly

According to information released by IPG, the sales of the material processing market in the third quarter of 2021 reached 345 million yuan (91% of total sales), a year-on-year increase of 19%. The main growth drivers were welding, marking and additive manufacturing ( 3D printing) application sales growth. And due to the growth of medical sales, revenue in other application markets increased by 17% year-on-year. 

Surprisingly, in the past, IPG's strong high-power continuous wave (CW) laser sales declined during the quarter. Despite the strong growth of welding and cutting businesses in North America and Europe, it was still unable to compensate for the decline in cutting business revenue in the Chinese market, which ultimately led to a 4% year-on-year decrease in sales of high-power continuous wave (CW) lasers (above 1kW). Among them, the sales of ultra-high-power lasers above 6kW accounted for 51% of high-power lasers. 

In addition, due to the growth of emerging products and applications, IPG's pulsed lasers and mid-power lasers have increased revenue. Among them, the growth of medium power is mainly driven by cutting, welding, additive manufacturing and semiconductor applications. The growth of pulsed lasers benefits from increased demand for foil cutting, marking, cleaning, drilling and solar cell manufacturing applications. QCW lasers benefit from marking and The growth of the drilling business.

At the same time, thanks to the substantial increase in sales of the handheld laser welding system Light WELD, the IPG system business has also achieved steady growth.

The Chinese market is tied, and the European and American markets have grown substantially

By region, sales in the Chinese market fell by 7% year-on-year to US$136 million (approximately RMB 885 million at a 1:6.49 exchange rate), accounting for 36% of IPG’s third-quarter revenue, and domestic fiber lasers are the leader Raycus Laser's revenue in the third quarter of this year was 897 million yuan. Since Raycus Laser did not disclose the proportion of domestic and foreign markets this year, it can only be estimated based on last year’s annual report (the domestic market revenue in 2020 will account for 98% of the total revenue)-Raycus Laser's domestic market in the third quarter of this year Revenue is about 879 million yuan (the estimated data is unaudited and is for reference only). IPG's share in the Chinese market has been almost equaled by Raycus Laser!

Although IPG has encountered severe challenges in the Chinese market, its sales outside of China are improving at an accelerating rate-its sales account for 64% of total sales. Among them, strong growth in the welding business, sales growth of high-power lasers for cutting applications, and record-breaking revenue in the medical field have contributed to the growth of revenue in North America, with the North American market increasing by 55% year-on-year. Europe has strong demand for cutting, welding, marking and additive manufacturing applications, with sales in the third quarter increasing by 50% year-on-year.