Tengden Science IPO: Inventory Nearly 5 Times Annual Revenue, Top Prepayment Client Not Listed as Related Party

Nearly a month has passed since Sichuan Tengdun Technology Co., Ltd. ("Tengdun Technology") responded to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange's first round of inquiries, yet no progress has been made on the company's IPO.

Despite consecutive losses, the company has opted for the fourth set of listing standards for its ChiNext Board application, aiming to raise 3.021 billion yuan. Over the three-year reporting period, the company's total revenue amounted to 869 million yuan, while net profit attributable to the parent company recorded a cumulative loss of 1.259 billion yuan. As of the end of 2025, accumulated uncovered losses stood at 3.321 billion yuan. Additionally, Caizhongshe noted that Tengdun Technology's largest prepayment recipient in 2025 was a company in which its controlling subsidiary holds an equity stake, yet this entity did not appear in Tengdun Technology's disclosed lists of related parties, related transactions, or related prepayments. The second-largest prepayment recipient also exhibited significant personnel overlap with a dissolved company, suggesting a close relationship between the two.

High Inventory Levels and Heavy Customer Dependence

From the end of 2023 to the end of 2025, Tengdun Technology's inventory book value rose sequentially from 593 million yuan to 712 million yuan, and then to 1.87 billion yuan. As a proportion of current assets, inventory increased from 27.79% to 36.65%, and then jumped to 56.54%. In 2025, the company's operating revenue was 379 million yuan, while year-end inventory was approximately 4.9 times that amount.

This inventory surge stemmed from a concentrated procurement effort: raw material purchases totaled 1.299 billion yuan in 2025, compared to just 238 million yuan in 2024. Inventory turnover slowed from 0.33 times in 2024 to 0.21 times in 2025. In response to the first round of inquiry question No. 7, which specifically requested an explanation for the rapid inventory increase, the company stated: "Under the overall framework of order-driven operations, we have appropriately advanced procurement of certain long-lead core materials."

Why would a company with annual revenue of 379 million yuan stockpile inventory nearly five times that amount?

While inventory buildup is typically intended to fulfill orders, the volume of products delivered in 2025 actually declined.

Tengdun Technology's main products include large unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), unmanned helicopters, amphibious UAVs, and swarm drone sub-systems. Among these, the "Meiyujian" is a high-altitude unmanned helicopter. The company's primary customers span the military and aviation sectors.

The company's main operating revenue is divided into two segments:

• Product sales revenue: 119 million yuan, 255 million yuan, and 220 million yuan over the three years.
• Flight and technical service revenue: 55.33 million yuan, 59.65 million yuan, and 154 million yuan over the same period.

As flight and technical service revenue has grown, the two business segments have become nearly equal in scale, with gross margins also gradually improving: 11.04%, 27.28%, and 24.58% over the three years.

Tengdun Technology also exhibits significant customer concentration. Revenue from the top five customers accounted for 85.16%, 87.01%, and 76.55% of total revenue over the three years. The largest customer once accounted for over 50% of revenue, highlighting a pronounced dependence on key clients.

Low Post-Period Collection Rates and Unimpaired Goodwill Exceeding 30% of Net Assets

At the end of each reporting period, Tengdun Technology's accounts receivable book value stood at 65.86 million yuan, 118 million yuan, and 109 million yuan, representing growth of over 65% during the period. However, post-period collection rates remained low. As of the end of June 2026, the collection rates for accounts receivable from the end of 2023, 2024, and 2025 were 52.83%, 66.85%, and 11.72%, respectively. After two and a half years, only about half of the receivables from the end of 2023 had been collected, while those from the end of 2025 had barely exceeded 10%.

The company explained that these payments were "affected by factors such as the progress of price review work, fiscal budgets, and the availability of allocated funds, resulting in delayed collections." It also stated that its bad debt provisioning policies are not materially different from those of comparable companies in the industry.

If receivables remain uncollected, how did operating cash flow turn positive to 22.65 million yuan in 2025?

The positive cash flow was supported by advance receipts and accounts payable.

During the reporting period, the company's net operating cash flow shifted from -287 million yuan and -351 million yuan to 22.65 million yuan. The company explained that this was "mainly due to the continuous expansion of business scale and a significant increase in signed sales contracts, leading to a substantial increase in contract payments received": contract payments received rose to 1.171 billion yuan, and contract liabilities increased to 938 million yuan. On the other side of the cash flow reconciliation, the largest item was an increase in operating payables of 1.371 billion yuan. Customer prepayments combined with temporarily deferred payments to suppliers together supported this positive figure.

As a result, the asset-liability ratio rose steadily, reaching 63.93%, 71.26%, and 74.53% at the end of each reporting period.

Profitability: Persistent Losses and High Expenses

In terms of profitability, net profit attributable to the parent company was -469 million yuan, -364 million yuan, and -426 million yuan over the three years. The company attributed this to "the combined effects of relatively small revenue scale, substantial R&D investment, and high period expense ratios." During the reporting period, the company also incurred annual share-based payment expenses of approximately 110 million to 130 million yuan.

Alongside share-based payment expenses, the company recorded massive R&D expenditures: 207 million yuan, 183 million yuan, and 212 million yuan over the three years, with R&D expense ratios of 118.66%, 57.97%, and 55.78%. Within R&D expenses, "excess spending on state-appropriated projects" amounted to 4.68 million yuan, 42.17 million yuan, and 62.4 million yuan, respectively, rising to approximately 30% of total R&D expenses. This refers to the portion of state-funded research projects where actual expenditures exceed the contract amount. Upon project completion or acceptance by relevant national authorities, the surplus or deficit is transferred to current-period profit or loss and recorded as R&D expenses.

The company's non-current assets also include goodwill of 407 million yuan at the end of each period, with no impairment ever recognized during the reporting period. This goodwill represents approximately 30.5% of the company's net assets. The company has acknowledged that accumulated uncovered losses will persist after listing and that it does not expect to distribute profits in the near term.

Ownership Structure: Low Voting Rights Concentration

What is Tengdun Technology's equity structure?

Actual controller Nie Haitao directly holds 8 million shares, representing 1.96%. Through Tengdun Times, he controls nine employee stock ownership platforms, including Tengyue Future, collectively holding 20.39% of voting rights. Through a Consistent Action Agreement with Chen Hong, Song Yanping, and Zeng Lianjun, he controls a total of 23.57% of voting rights.

Such a low concentration of voting rights is uncommon among companies preparing for listing. Once listed, if a large capital entity purchases shares in the secondary market, control of the company could easily be lost, potentially affecting the stability of corporate decision-making and operations.

Prepayment Recipients: Potential Undisclosed Related Parties

Compared to the visible financial performance and equity structure, matters beneath the surface—areas investors cannot easily see—deserve greater attention, such as prepayment recipients.

First-Largest Prepayment Recipient: Xibaike (a Non-Related Party?)

Xibaike Technology (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. ("Xibaike") was established on August 16, 2023. Sichuan Xingtu Linghang began holding a 1.62% equity stake in Xibaike in April 2025. Sichuan Xingtu Linghang's sole shareholder, Hefei Xingtu Linghang Technology Co., Ltd., is a 93.1%-owned subsidiary of Tengdun Technology. In other words, Xibaike is a company in which Tengdun Technology's controlling subsidiary holds a 1.62% stake.

Less than eight months after Sichuan Xingtu Linghang acquired its stake, Xibaike became the company's largest prepayment recipient at the end of 2025, with a prepayment amount of 12.38 million yuan, accounting for 17.06% of total prepayments. The procurement was for airframe components, and 5.63 million yuan had been settled by the end of the first half of 2026. Notably, Xibaike did not appear among Tengdun Technology's top five prepayment customers at the end of 2023 or 2024.

Crucially, Xibaike is not listed in Tengdun Technology's related-party roster. The company's disclosed long-term equity investments include only Haofu Technology, Leidun Electronics Low-Altitude Economy Electronics, Haofu Technology, Jiangxi Shengshi Huadun, and the Sichuan Taxation Society. Related-party transaction amounts were 1.7 million yuan, 1.92 million yuan, 19.29 million yuan, and 15,000 yuan, respectively, with recurring related transactions "mainly consisting of related procurement from investee companies and related leases."

Furthermore, Xibaike does not appear in Tengdun Technology's list of related-party prepayments.

Admittedly, Tengdun Technology's investment ratios in the aforementioned companies are all higher than its stake in Xibaike. However, the determination of related-party status is not based solely on shareholding percentage; the key factor is whether the investor can exert significant influence over the investee. Channels for exerting significant influence include contractual arrangements, cross-appointment of personnel, and other means. Based on currently disclosed information, it is impossible to determine whether a related-party relationship exists between the two parties. However, it should be noted that even with a low shareholding percentage, if significant influence can be exerted through other arrangements—such as agreements—the relationship should be disclosed as a related party and related transaction. Moreover, for companies planning an IPO, the public has limited access to information. Even if no related-party relationship exists, transactions that are large in amount or proportion should still be disclosed to ensure the completeness and accuracy of information disclosure.

Second-Largest Prepayment Recipient: Fujian Julong—Close Ties with a Dissolved Company

In both 2024 and 2025, Tengdun Technology's second-largest prepayment recipient was Fujian Julong Aviation Technology Co., Ltd. ("Fujian Julong"), with prepayment amounts of 10 million yuan and 11.43 million yuan, accounting for 10.85% and 15.75% of total prepayments, respectively. According to the prospectus draft, the two parties signed a technical service contract in October 2024 valued at 20.193 million yuan.

Business registration records show that Fujian Julong was formerly known as Fujian Kebit Aviation Technology Co., Ltd. ("Fujian Kebit"), established in April 2023. Two months later, Sanming Xingkuang Zhuangju Trading Co., Ltd. was established, with Fujian Kebit holding 30% and Huang Shunbing holding 70%. After subsequent changes, the company name was changed to "Fujian Xingkuang Zhuangju Aviation Technology Co., Ltd." ("Fujian Xingkuang Zhuangju"), with shareholders including Zheng Xijun, Huang Shunbing, Yang Daoshui, Luo Huihuang, and He Shiwen. This company was ultimately dissolved in October 2025.

The same group of individuals also appears at Fujian Julong. Zheng Xijun serves as Fujian Julong's legal representative, holds 90% of its shares, and personally serves as chairman and general manager. His personal profile also includes positions such as "General Manager of Southeast Aviation Technology Company" and "Director of the Sanming Branch of the Cross-Strait Bay Area Industrial Alliance." Huang Shunbing and Luo Huihuang both serve as directors of Fujian Julong.

More importantly, both Fujian Xingkuang Zhuangju and Fujian Julong share the same financial officer, Liu Guiping. Additionally, the registered addresses of both companies were once listed as the 2nd Floor of the Maker Space, Sanming Zhongguancun Dual-Innovation Incubation Center. However, according to Amap, the two locations are only about 200 meters apart.

(Source: Caizhongshe)