Leaderdrive

Business

Leaderdrive (苏州绿的谐波传动科技股份有限公司) makes precision transmission parts: harmonic reducers, planetary roller screws and precision parts, mechatronic actuator products, and automation equipment. Its customers are in robotics, CNC machine tools, medical devices, semiconductor equipment and new-energy equipment (2026 interim report, p. 8).

The company says it was the first in China to industrialise harmonic reducers and that it broke international brands' monopoly in China's robot harmonic reducer market. It has developed its own tooth profile, which it calls the "P-type" profile, and a third-harmonic design that it says improves torsional stiffness and accuracy (pp. 8, 11, 14).

Scale and growth

• In 2025 it produced 433,655 harmonic reducers and sold 425,158, both up about 72% on 2024; mechatronic product sales rose 72% to 12,178 sets (2025 annual report, corrected, p. 38).
• In the first half of 2026, revenue rose 38.6% to ¥348.5m and net profit attributable to shareholders rose 31.3% to ¥70.1m. The company attributes the growth to share gains in industrial robots, a sharp increase in embodied-AI robot business, and capacity expansion (2026 interim report, p. 6).
• Harmonic reducers and metal parts were ¥288.1m of first-half revenue, mechatronic products ¥54.7m; sales outside China were ¥50.9m (p. 145).

Operating cash flow was negative ¥17.4m in the first half of 2026, which the company explains as a payment-timing effect: it endorsed bank acceptance bills received from customers to pay for long-term assets, while operating payables were settled with notes payable that reduced operating cash flow when they fell due (p. 6).

Margins

Gross margin has declined each year, from 41.1% in 2023 to 37.5% in 2024 and 36.9% in 2025 (2025 annual report, p. 35). First-half 2026 revenue and cost for harmonic reducers and metal parts imply a margin of about 33% (our calculation from p. 145 of the interim report). Even so, that is far above smaller listed rivals such as Zhongda Leader, whose precision reducer margin was 14.6% in the same period.

Beyond harmonic reducers

• Roller screws. Leaderdrive says its planetary roller screws now rest on a complete in-house technology base. It also notes that the high-precision thread grinding machines needed to make them depend heavily on imports and are subject to export controls, with high prices and long lead times (2026 interim report, pp. 10, 12).
• Bearings. It has set up a joint venture with SKF to develop and industrialise high-precision bearings for robot joints (p. 11).

Planned Hong Kong listing

On 26 August 2026 Leaderdrive's board approved a plan to issue H shares and list them on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, citing its global strategy, international brand and funding diversification. Shareholders approved the plan at an extraordinary meeting on 14 September 2026: the main resolution passed with 94.4% of the votes cast, by holders of 40.8% of voting rights who attended (resolution announcement). It still needs filings with or approvals from the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the Hong Kong exchange and the Securities and Futures Commission. The company intends to complete it within 24 months of shareholder approval, says the details are not yet final, and describes the outcome as highly uncertain (announcement of 26 August 2026).

Disclosure note

In July 2026, after an inquiry letter from the Shanghai Stock Exchange on its 2025 annual report, Leaderdrive published corrections to the top-five supplier share of purchases, the amount of derecognised bank acceptance bills, and related-party purchase and sales amounts with Jiangsu Juanji Intelligent Technology (correction notice). None of the corrections concerned revenue or profit.