Operator
Operator: Now let me pass to Mr. Ivan Tsao, the CFO of AirTAC, for opening remarks.
Tsao Yung-Hsiang
Okay. Thank you, Ellie, and good day, everybody.
This is Ivan Tsao speaking from AirTAC, and welcome to join this conference call. Please let me brief our first quarter result and current market situation.
Pneumatic demand have entered a recover cycle, and we expect this upcycle could sustain longer than 2 to 3 years. Both shipment and order book amount have exceed our expectation since the beginning of the year.
Pneumatic component are replacing human beings' direction, and the industry can sustain single-digit growth annually once there's not too severe economic issue. By continuously developing new product and improving our brand image, we expect our annual revenue growth rate could be 10% higher than industry growth rates.
As pneumatic products support production line rather than the end product, as long as customers launch new models or engage in production activities, there will be a better demand for pneumatic. In addition, recently the critical impact on raw material cost remain within the company's control.
Through ongoing improvement in internal production efficiency and product sales mix, the operating profit margin this quarter continues to rise compared to the past couple of years. Unapproved consolidated revenue for the first quarter of 2026 was RMB2 billion and $192 million, a 22% growth year-on-year.
Gross profit was RMB1 billion and $52 million, a 33% growth year-on-year. Gross margin was 48.0%.
Operating income was RMB728 million, a 45% growth year-on-year. Operating margin was 33.2%.
Net non-operating income was RMB22 million, including $14 million subsidy from government, $5 million of FX gain, and $4 million of interest income. Income before income tax was RMB750 million, a 37% growth year-on-year.
Pre-tax margin was 34.2%. Net profit was RMB585 million, a 36% growth year-on-year.
Net margin was 26.7%. EPS for the first quarter of 2026 was NT$13.35.
Revenue for top eight industry for the first quarter of 2026, the biggest one was electronics, around 26% to our consolidated revenue. It's 20% growth year-on-year.
Second one, battery, was around 20% to revenue, 85% growth year-on-year. Auto was 9% to revenue, 15% growth.
Packaging was around 7% to revenue, 10% growth. Machine tool was 7% to revenue, 20% growth.
General machinery was around 5% to revenue, 32% growth. Textile, 5% to revenue, 22% growth.
Energy lighting was around 3% to revenue, it's 2% decline year-on-year. For current market situation, more and more customers are showing positive views on future demand.
China government continues to release many stimulus policies and attempt to restore the confidence of people or enterprises. Some of them have improved their confidence and increase their end product consumption or capacity expansion.
As for the demand of various industry for pneumatic, the revenue of the electronics industry grew by 20% in first quarter of 2026, it's better than our expectation. Many customers say there could be a good year for electronics in 2026 because there could be launching more new models and spec upgrade in the year.
We expect we could have double-digit revenue growth from electronics customers. For battery demand, government has announced step-down guidance for EV and battery industry, and customers expand their domestic capacity.
In addition, more countries have relaxed their restriction policies on Chinese players, and those players plan to extend their overseas capacity. It could be double-digit revenue growth from battery in 2026.
Better revenue growth from auto industry also could be expected in 2026. We have improved our brand image on auto customers and enjoy better share gain.
Even the overall auto industry had not recovered significantly, we have had double-digit revenue growth from auto for years. We expect double-digit revenue growth in 2026 from auto customers.
Moreover, government stimulus policies for replacing old equipment to be new equipment can get subsidy from government still in the market. Those traditional demand like machine tool, general machinery, textile, or packaging customers can enjoy positive growth.
However, we have some demand issues on solar or energy lighting in 2025, but the government has recently taken the action to coordinate the overcapacity issue. We expect solar or energy lighting demand can be positive growth in 2026.
Selected items for selected customers have pricing competition in pneumatic market, but it's still rational, basically. We have increased the selling price in our overseas market, but maintain stable pricing in the China market to improve our customer relationship and accelerated revenue from those various new business or new product.
In addition, we need to comprehensively consider revenue growth, pricing strategy, operating profit margin, and market share, rather than just pursuing high-speed revenue growth. The increasing material cost still can be offset by our internal efficiency improvements, but OP margin still have to depends on revenue scale and capacity utilization rate.
Even we can improve our margins by launching more higher gross margin new items, improving our selling product mix, and continue to improve internal efficiency to reduce production cost, we define a 100% capacity utilization rate based on working 24 days a month and 21 hours a day with two-shift operator working system. Current pneumatic capacity utilization rate is higher than 100%.
For the development of the linear guide, despite the overall weak demand and peers' aggressive pricing in 2025, our shipment volume growth still could be around 20% in 2025. We also have a 20% revenue growth in first quarter of 2026.
We have increased our capacity utilization rate from over 20% last year to over 30% since the beginning of this year, and expecting to reach 50% by end of the year. When we have 20% to 30% utilization rate, gross margin of linear guide is teens percent.
And 50% utilization rate, gross margin is around 30%. 80% utilization rate, gross margin could be around 40%.
Even 40% gross margin is lower than our existing pneumatic business, and we use the same sales team to do cross-selling pneumatic and linear guide without too much additional OpEx, it still can improve our consolidated OP margin. Our product quality is better than our Taiwanese peers, and our pricing is lower than theirs.
We missed customers' expansion in 2020. Our current sales strategy is to enhance our brand image, and just compete with Taiwanese and Japanese peers.
After have a good enough brand image within 1 to 2 years, we will design additional spec or SKU to reduce production cost and selling price to compete with local China players, continuously improve our utilization rate, enjoy better fixed cost leverage, and implement another aggressive pricing to compete with all peers. When the utilization rate exceed 90%, we will consider changing the current two-shift operator working system to three-shift, and increase our equipment working hours also can enjoy better fixed cost leverage.
This will give us the opportunity to implement more aggressive pricing strategy further to compete with all the peers and accelerate our market share in linear guide market. We still expect we could have around RMB3 billion revenue from linear guide in around 10 years.
For the development of supporting semiconductor business, based on our strategy, we have not developed product to meet semi customers' demand by end of 2024. Due to those product can enjoy higher gross margin, and China government have localize policies, we began to develop semi items from early of 2025, and scheduled to launch them gradually from 2027.
Current development progress is better than our expected, and we can gradually launch some items from second half of 2026. Based on past experience, it usually takes around 1 year for new product to have a better revenue contribution.
It could be in second half of 2027 or early of 2028, we could have higher revenue contribution from semi customers. We expect pneumatic industry can return to low-single-digit growth in 2026, and we can have at least 10% revenue growth from pneumatic products, plus the revenue contribution of linear guide and electrical controller product.
The shipment in first quarter exceeds our expectations, and remain pretty strong in this April. Even though we are optimistic about the market demand in 2026, due to the short delivery time in pneumatic industry, we still prefer to provide our guidance for 2026 based on a conservative principle, and will adjust them upward with the next quarter's operating results.
We raise our guidance for 2026 to achieve a revenue growth of mid-teens to high-teens percent, and OP margin of 33% for the whole year. We have generate free cash flow for years, and also have increased our cash dividend payout from 35% in 2021 to 55% in 2025.
It will be 65% in 2026, and still could be better or higher in coming years. It's my briefing.
Should you have any further questions, we can discuss it. Thank you.
Operator
Thank you, Ivan. Now let's start the Q&A session.
I already see several hands up, let's start with Ming. Ming, please go ahead.
Ming-Chi Kuo
Hi, thank you, Ellie, and congrats Ivan for the great results. I have two questions.
The first question, regarding the current business, I think in first quarter you already see a very strong shipment growth. Right now compared between linear guide and the pneumatic, which product has a stronger demand?
Do you consider to raise the price for either of the product? Thank you, that's my first question.
Tsao Yung-Hsiang
Basically, we have stronger demand from pneumatic. Linear guide in first quarter, the overall demand still have not recover significantly.
Even some peers they say they want to raise their selling price, but as we know, it just selected items can be hiked to customers' pricing. Basically, we have increased our pricing in overseas market, but still sustain stable pricing in China market, because we still will launch more new items for pneumatic and prefer to sustain better relationship with customers and convince more customers buy more linear guide from AirTAC.
We also have electrical controller, new spec will be launched in second half of 2026, and we still continuing to develop electrical actuator or electrical cylinder. Maybe we can launch electrical actuator in 2028 or 2029.
Based on we have a record-high revenue and high position of the OP margin, maybe it's better not to hike our selling price in China market in this moment. Thank you.
Ming-Chi Kuo
Thank you, Ivan. I have another question is regarding to your cash management etcetera.
You mentioned you will raise your dividend payout. The same time your cash flow from operation is improving as well.
How will you make your investment more efficient to improve your ROE or ROIC? Thank you.
Tsao Yung-Hsiang
Basically, in past we just sustained it around 50% payout ratio. We have specific profit in the year stay on our retained earnings.
Once we just continue to sustain 50% cash dividend payout, the base of retained earnings will be higher and higher, and even we pay 50%, the ROE still won't be too high. Maybe we can increase our payout ratio, and we also continue to improve our internal efficiency, selling product mix, also can have a higher OP margin, higher EPS to increase our ROE in coming years.
Ming-Chi Kuo
Yes, sorry, to follow up. Because you raise your revenue guidance, do you need to increase your CapEx, or you can spend the same CapEx, but generate a higher revenue?
Tsao Yung-Hsiang
Basically, in past 3 years, even the overall demand still not very obviously recover, but still spend CapEx to improve our equipment productivities. We have a lower CapEx number from 2023 to 2026, it just around NT$2 to 3 billion a year.
It doesn't mean we slow down our expansion. We have better productivities of our process, and still can support 20% output volume growth every year, even we just have NT$2 to 3 billion CapEx.
Basically, we still can find some ways to improve our productivities or production efficiency. And 2027 maybe the CapEx still could be around NT$2 to 3 billion.
And 2028 or 2029, we have to spend a little higher CapEx to expand our electrical actuator parts capacity. Even the CapEx could be a little higher, it just could be NT$3 billion or a little higher than NT$3 billion a year.
Ming-Chi Kuo
Thank you, Ivan and Ellie. That's all my questions.
Operator
The next question comes from Cassie. Cassie, please?
Hello? Cassie, we are not able to hear you.
Can you try again?
Daisy Zhang
Hello?
Operator
Yes. Loud and clear now.
Thank you.
Daisy Zhang
This is Daisy from Macquarie. First that thank you, Ellie, and congratulations, Ivan, for your very exciting results.
I have several questions. The first is regarding say your OP margin actually is based on the year-on-year or Q-on-Q base.
Actually, I want to know what's the reason behind for your OP margin improvement. Thank you, Ivan.
Tsao Yung-Hsiang
Thank you, Daisy. I mentioned we still can find more ways to improve our production efficiency internally.
We also can improve our selling product mix. Basically, we have a better OP margin in first quarter of this year.
The other reason could be we have better revenue scale, and the OpEx leverage also could be better. We expect, even we can say we could have another higher OP margin in second quarter of this year, even could be a record-high number in second quarter of the year, because we not just improve our internal production efficiency, and we expect second quarter revenue scale also could be much better than first quarter of the year.
OP margin, once there is not too severe economic issue, we believe that our OP margin in second quarter of 2026 could be a record-high numbers or percentage.
Daisy Zhang
Thank you, Ivan, but you just guided say 2026 the OP margin will be around 33%, but given another say that the improvement in the second quarter, is that your OP margin the whole-year guidance is too conservative?
Tsao Yung-Hsiang
I have mentioned it in my briefing. The lead time of pneumatic is too short, we still cannot 100% ensure the demand situation in second half of the year.
We used to give a little conservative numbers to the market in first half of the year, and based on quarterly result will upgrade the guidance number.
Daisy Zhang
Understand. My second question, Ivan, is regarding what's the reason behind that we are seeing say the record-high the order book in January and then in March again?
Is this the industry that overall demand the recovery or just you are a wallet share gain?
Tsao Yung-Hsiang
As we know, so many FA players, they have pretty strong revenue or order book in first quarter of the year. AirTAC, we still continue to launch more new pneumatic items, we have share gain.
We also have new business, electrical controller to support our business. In addition, even the linear guide revenue still could be a little lower than our expectation, but it have been record-high quarterly linear guide revenue in Q1 of the year.
Basically, once we can continue to improve our linear guide brand image, we believe that the revenue contribution from linear guide in coming quarters or coming years still could be better and better, and it can improve our consolidated revenue growth, also could have a better fixed cost leverage on OpEx. Mmm.
Daisy Zhang
Ivan, thank you. My last question, that we just want to know your estimated revenue from the semi say in the second half next year, and also the whole-year contribution in 2028.
Thank you.
Tsao Yung-Hsiang
Basically, it's our whole new business, and our current semi revenue just coming from those items we used to develop for other applications, but still can be shared by semi customers. Monthly revenue just around RMB5 to 6 million a month in 2025, but it was a little higher in March of the 2026, higher than RMB8 million.
Maybe still too early to tell the expecting revenue for 2027 or 2028, but basically based on we could have better brand image, also benefit from government localization policies, maybe we still could be enjoy higher revenue contribution from semi in coming years. It's difficult to tell or it's too early to tell the exact number for 2027 or 2028 from semi customers.
Daisy Zhang
Got you. Thank you very much, Ivan, and thank you, Ellie.
Tsao Yung-Hsiang
Thank you.
Operator
Next we have Jui-Chuan Chih, please go ahead. Chih, you are muted.
Jui-Chuan Chih
Hey, yes. Hey, Ivan, congratulations on your strong result and good job on delivering your guidance since last year.
My question is very simple. I think you guided the electronics to see recovery this year.
From our observation in the electronics industry in China, there are two group, right? One is the traditional smartphone, PC, those are still pretty weak.
Then there's AI-related electronics supply chain, maybe the PCB, the optical modules, those have been very strong. Within your electronics segment, is it able to classify into maybe the traditional PC, smartphone?
Maybe historically you are more tilted to the Apple, right? Then this year with the orders momentum, I suspect is it related to some of those AI electronics?
Is it possible to maybe split your electronics by AI versus maybe smartphone, PC? That's my question, thank you.
Tsao Yung-Hsiang
Okay. Basically, any production activities need pneumatic indirectly, and pneumatic just support customers' production process, not in the end product.
Even somebody say the sales volume of smartphone in 2026 won't be too good, but we also have mentioned in the in my briefing, we need more new models launch and bigger spec upgrade, then customers need to set up new assembly line or capacity. The volume selling volume of customers' product is not very high correlation to pneumatic demand.
Basically, we expect pneumatic could have double-digit revenue growth and maybe higher than 10%. We have 20% growth in first quarter, it's better than our expectation, but also based on the short lead time of the pneumatic product, we just can say it could be double digit for the whole year of 2026.
Jui-Chuan Chih
This is still more smartphone related.
Tsao Yung-Hsiang
No, smartphone revenue just around 25% to 30% of our electronics revenue. Not just what you mentioned Apple are our customers, all of the local China smartphone players are our customers.
Jui-Chuan Chih
How about PCB, optical module, maybe AI related in the electronics?
Tsao Yung-Hsiang
Yes, as I mentioned, whenever customers have production activities, they need more pneumatic to support their automation input.
Jui-Chuan Chih
You can't say the percentage within the electronics? Basically,
Tsao Yung-Hsiang
so many electronics supply chain customers, maybe they are not just engage in specific single product. We can pick up smartphone revenue from our electronics revenue.
The rest of the electronics revenue is not very high percentage
Jui-Chuan Chih
to
Tsao Yung-Hsiang
consolidate electronics revenue, and it's better not to quantify those smaller percentage items.
Jui-Chuan Chih
Thank you, Ivan. Congratulations.
Tsao Yung-Hsiang
Thank you.
Operator
Thank you. Thank you.
Next we have Andrew. Andrew, please go ahead.
Andrew Obin
Hello, thanks so much for your time. You talked a bit about increasing ASPs in overseas markets.
I just wondered can you please elaborate on the business you have overseas, exports, what products that entails, and just how much you're able to raise prices, and who you're taking market share from? Basically,
Tsao Yung-Hsiang
overseas revenue just around 4% 4% to 5% of our consolidated revenue. We have a better business in Europe and America.
Basically, pricing hiked still based on different items for different customers, and it could be single digit to teens percent for the pricing hiked. We said the total pneumatic demand in non-China market could be around 75% of the global demand, but we just have 4% revenue from overseas market.
It's very limited market share of our overseas business. Basically, there's still so many bigger competitors or smaller competitors in global, and we gain more shares from Japanese peers in China, and we can get shares from different of various competitors in global, but all of them still not very high revenue for AirTAC.
Andrew Obin
Thanks. Maybe just one follow-up.
Can you talk more about the products that you're developing within semiconductor specifically? What is it, and are you able to quantify even roughly just sort of the revenue potential, the margins that you think you can make on these devices?
Tsao Yung-Hsiang
As we know, the biggest Japanese players, their China revenue almost around 20% to 30% contribute by semi items. The total semi demand amount in China market could be RMB5 to 6 billion.
We just have RMB60 million in 2025, and maybe will be a little better or higher from 2027 or 2028. We expect we could have RMB1 billion revenue from semi in around 10 years.
It's just our expectation, and how fast of the progress will be still depends on how fast of the customers want to place more orders to AirTAC. Thank you.
Andrew Obin
All right.
Operator
Okay. Next we have Jason.
Jason, please go ahead.
Jason Lo
Good afternoon, Ellie and Mr. Ivan.
This is Jason Lo from the First Capital Management. The first question I would like to know the profit margin guidance, because from late from from early March we see the hard metal price or even the energy price be higher.
In the second quarter in so in the second quarter, do you see any negative effect for our variable cost to our products? Thank you.
As
Tsao Yung-Hsiang
I mentioned, we still have found more ways to improve our internal efficiency and productivities. We have 33% OP margin guidance for the whole year.
It have included the metal material cost hiked teens percent in 2026. Basically, those hiked raw material costs still can be offset by our internal production efficiency improvement.
Thank you.
Jason Lo
Okay. For my second question and the last question is, could you recap for us the utilization rate in the 2026 first quarter and the guidance for the second quarter?
Thank you, Mr. Ivan.
Tsao Yung-Hsiang
Pneumatic utilization rate have been higher than 100%. Linear guide have over 30% in first quarter of 2026.
Jason Lo
For the second quarter, maybe we can expect the number will be higher than before?
Tsao Yung-Hsiang
Still could be higher in second quarter because the shipment in first quarter have higher than our expected, and our inventory turnover days even could be just around 100 teens days. It's not healthy, it's too low.
Basically, we still will keep very high utilization rate, even ask all more operator to over time to produce more volumes in second quarter.
Jason Lo
Thank you, Mr. Ivan.
Have a nice day.
Tsao Yung-Hsiang
You too. Thank you.
Operator
Thank you. Next we have Iris.
Iris, please go ahead.
Iris Zheng
Yep. Thank you, Ellie, and hi, Ivan.
Congratulations on your good results. I've got three questions if I may.
By the way, this is Iris from Deutsche Bank. Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself.
My first question is actually on the raw material price and pricing as well. Could you maybe give us a rough split of what are the key raw materials in your cost of goods sold?
I assume it's preliminary aluminum, but want to have an understanding like a rough split is fine. Then like you've mentioned that your guidance has included a teens percent of increase for the metal price, then to which point then you will consider increasing the price?
I think by how much the metal price needs to increase then you will consider to increase the price?
Tsao Yung-Hsiang
Our cost structure, raw material costs almost around 50% of our cost of goods sold, including 20% to cost of goods sold is aluminum, 4% to 5% is copper, and another 5% is steel. Basically, aluminum cost hiked by teens percent in past 12 months, and it's around 3% hiked from copper.
Basically, we will keep stable pricing for pneumatic in China market, and it doesn't mean we cannot pass those raw material cost disadvantage to customers. Basically, we just hiked pricing once in 2011 because copper cost was hiked by 5 to 6 times.
Then we just hiked those pricing for customers, just for the copper material contains higher percentage of the cost of goods sold product or SKUs. Rest of the items still keep stable pricing, even similar pricing.
I still have to address, we still can find more ways to improve our production efficiency, and not just we can accumulate our experience to find more ways, also caused by the automation knowledge or technology is improving. We can find more ways to improve equipment productivities or production efficiency.
Basically, we won't hike selling price to customers, basically. It still depends on the competition environment.
We believe even the raw material cost still will be hiked in 2026 or rest of the 2026, but still can be controlled by ourselves. Thank you.
Iris Zheng
Understand, and thank you, Ivan. My second question is on the linear guide business.
Because I believe some of the peers in the linear guide business is pointing to better demand for their linear guide business, but you've mentioned that you believe the linear guide demand didn't really recover for the market in the first quarter, and can you give us maybe a bit more color on that? Also what you think is preventing AirTAC from kind of seeing higher growth in this business?
Tsao Yung-Hsiang
Basically, we expect the overall demand could be better in 2026, but we have not seen that in first quarter. Why we expect the linear guide demand could be better in 2026 because the demand cycle of linear guide used to be around 2 to 3 quarters later than pneumatic cycle.
Once pneumatic began to recover from end of 2024, the linear guide demand could be better from fourth quarter of 2025. Second quarter of 2025, U.S.
have a tariff policies, and linear guide could be a CapEx component, it's not like pneumatic with CapEx demand and component replacement demand. The tariff policy impact to linear guide could be higher than pneumatic.
Basically, we still expect the linear guide demand could be better or began to recover in 2026, but just not in Q1 of 2026.
Iris Zheng
Okay. Are we seeing some signs of maybe the demand picking up, since we are end of April now in the second quarter?
Tsao Yung-Hsiang
Basically, the demand seems a little better in past one or a little more than 1 month.
Iris Zheng
That's great. My last question on the exciting semiconductor business, and can you give us some understanding of what are the say barriers for entry in the semiconductor market?
Is it more about customer relationship and customization required, or it's more techno- logical in the cleanrooms? Also what are the drivers for us to be successful in this market?
I understand the whole localization drive, and other than that, what can drive us to grow in this market? Basically,
Tsao Yung-Hsiang
we still could be a beneficiary of the government policies, localization. Our pricing just around 40% of Japanese peers' pricing, that means 60% discount to Japanese peers' pricing.
We still can enjoy 70% gross margin from those items. Basically, it's our whole new field to support semi customers, and we have our expectation, but still depends on customers' verification period and how many orders they can place to AirTAC.
Basically, pneumatic or even so many high application, higher-end customers, they have very deep brand image for pneumatic suppliers, because pneumatic is a little complicated than other FA component, but it's very low ASP, low cost percentage to customers' total production cost. Even we have 20%, 30%, 40% pricing lower than peers, lower than Japanese peers or European peers, but it's very minor to customers' total production cost.
Many customers, they don't want to take any risk to change their pneumatic suppliers to made-in-China suppliers. Basically, in past it's the main reason why we don't want to set semi items development to be our first priority.
We still prefer to do those easy-money items first. The progress or the competings of AirTAC to enter in semi items, basically we could have similar quality, similar knowledge or technology with international peers.
The semi revenue progress still depends on how fast of the local China semi customers place how many orders to AirTAC.
Iris Zheng
Understand. Just to double-check, when you say about the pricing being only 40% of the Japanese peers, you're referring to the semiconductor-specific products, or you are referring to the broader products portfolio?
I guess it's a bit higher than that.
Tsao Yung-Hsiang
Semi items. You asked me semi items, I just answer you about the semi pricing.
Iris Zheng
Understand. Very clear.
Thank you, Ivan.
Tsao Yung-Hsiang
Thank you.
Operator
Thank you. Next we have KK.
KK, please go ahead.
KekYee Teoh
Hi, Ivan. Good to hear from you again.
This is KK from Principal. Just want to double-check, this year, right, do we still see the normal seasonality in the monthly sales, or this year is a bit abnormal?
We may see the sales pick up in April, May, and then flattish into August, September. How is the monthly sales seasonality this year?
Tsao Yung-Hsiang
Basically, second quarter used to be the peak season
KekYee Teoh
of
Tsao Yung-Hsiang
pneumatic. Whenever the economy is good or bad, second quarter always is the peakest season of the pneumatic.
Once want to talk about the consolidated revenue of AirTAC, it still depends on the progress of our new business, linear guide, electrical controller. It still depends.
KekYee Teoh
Okay. Coming back to the segment like electronics segment, right, you said there's more new model and spec upgrade this year.
When you say new model, do you see new items that are not in the market before coming into the market this year by different new company that enter the consumer electronics, or new product range that entering the consumer electronics?
Tsao Yung-Hsiang
Maybe not just contribute by new entrant. Existing players in the market, they still have launched or going to launch many new models in rest of the year.
Whenever they launch new models, basically they need to set up new production process or assembly line, and they need more pneumatic component.
KekYee Teoh
Yeah. Okay.
For the auto segment, SMC is about 30% of the mix is auto, and AirTAC currently we are only 9, it's quite easy for us to gain market share. How many how fast can we go to like, say, 20%?
Like we need 2 years to go to 20% of mix, or 1 year, next year we can go to end of next year we can go to 20% of mix coming from auto?
Tsao Yung-Hsiang
Basically, percentage to the mix from specific application still depends on the base. We could be the biggest pneumatic component suppliers, and once we want to achieve 30% of the revenue coming from auto, we think it could be very difficult.
Because we have specific
KekYee Teoh
Oh, because you are very diversified, and your mix is quite different from SMC, yeah.
Tsao Yung-Hsiang
Basically. We think we just have teens percent market share in China auto industry, much lower than our overall market share, 30%.
We believe that we still can enjoy pretty good market share gain from auto customers in coming years, but how high of the percentage will be still depends.
KekYee Teoh
Okay. Got it.
Thanks, Ivan. No further questions.
Tsao Yung-Hsiang
Thank you.
Operator
Thank you. Next question comes from Jeremy.
Jeremy, please go ahead.
Jeremy Chen
Okay. Thank you.
Just two questions from me. As far as I understand it, there are a lot of different kinds of specifications for pneumatic equipment, right?
A lot of different kinds of waver, and I understand that for a company like, let's say, SMC, they cover a lot of specifications, and in order for them to maintain a very short lead time, they keep a very large inventory in order to respond very quickly to the market, right? My question here is if you are looking to gain more market share in China going forward over the next 2 to 3 years, does that mean that you will need to build up your inventory in terms of the number of specifications that you have on hand as well?
If that's so, does that mean that you need to actually boost your capacity going forward?
Tsao Yung-Hsiang
Basically, most the different SKU, the production can be shared by the same equipment or production process. We don't have to buy specific new equipment for specific new SKUs.
Different company have different operation strategy. Basically, our lead time to support customers could be the shortest one in China market.
We promise to customers they can get their demand in 3 to 5 days after they place orders to AirTAC. As we know, the other two bigger peers is longer than 1 week.
We review our inventory from raw materials, working process to finished goods under our ERP system. We observe or review, even revise the ratio of the each items by weekly.
We just have two or in 10 years ago, we just have 120 or 50 150,000 items, and our inventory turnover days was around 170 days at that time. We have increased our SKU number to be around 250 to 260,000 items currently, and our inventory turnover days just around 120 days, even lower than 120 days at end of this March.
Basically, different company have different strategy, and we could be have a better efficiency to manage our inventory level.
Jeremy Chen
I see. Anyway, based on your current strategy and your business model, you feel that you don't need to boost capacity in order to still take market share in the near term, right?
Tsao Yung-Hsiang
We still have to expand more capacity because we have specific shipping volume growth. We need to buy more new equipment to increase our output.
In addition, for SMC or Festo, they have around or even more than 700,000 items, 50% customized, 50% standardized. AirTAC, we have 250, 260,000 items, 90% standardized.
We just target on around 35% of China pneumatic market share, and we just developed 350,000 items to cover 80%, 85% of the total market demand and enjoy 35% among the 80%, 85%. It's good enough for AirTAC.
We won't develop 400,000 items, 500,000 items.
Jeremy Chen
Understand. Very clear.
My other question is you stated in your opening statement that you're expecting possibly a 2 to 3-year upcycle for pneumatic equipment in China. However, and also I noticed that you said that you are producing right now above 100% capacity utilization.
Then it doesn't seem that you're accelerating your CapEx spend, you're still going to spend about NT$2 to 3 billion Taiwanese billion per year. When you speak to your customers, do you get a sense that this year it seems like demand recovery is very broad-based across many, many industries when I speak to other companies as well.
Do you get a sense that the investment is being front-loaded this year because it's the first year of the 15th Five-Year Plan and they want it to be a good start? Is there a risk that we might see a slowdown next year?
Tsao Yung-Hsiang
We defined 100% utilization rate based on 24 days a month and 21 hours a day. Once we have a better shipment, we can ask our operator to work for 26 days a month, that means 110% utilization rate.
In specific process, we still can put it more operator to let equipment work for 24 hours. Basically, NT$2 to 3 billion CapEx a year is good enough for our current demand situation or based on our prediction.
In addition, the pneumatic equipment lead time from we place orders to our vendors, to this new equipment could make production, just around 3 months. We used to construct buildings first, and we can based on the current shipping situation and decide when to buy more equipment.
Just in 3 months, we can have a new capacity. Just the same words, we always can find some ways to improve our internal production efficiency.
Even the same equipment, we could have additional output of production volume to support customers' demand. We can adjust our CapEx whenever we want to.
Basically, even 2026, 2027, our current expansion plan NT$2 to 3 billion CapEx a year, but still can support 20% shipping volume growth in those 2 years. Thank you.
Jeremy Chen
Understand. Thank you very much.
Operator
Thank you, Jeremy. Next we have Kenny.
Kenny, please.
Kenny Chen
Thanks, Ellie. Hi, Ivan, congrats on the amazing results.
I have actually two quick questions, just following up the overall demand situation. I guess in the previous several cycles you had some years growing your revenue over say 20% or even 30%.
I'm wondering if this time you need to cherry-picking your orders, like your BB ratio is going beyond control, you need to forgo a little bit demand. What do you think about the current situation right now?
Tsao Yung-Hsiang
Basically, in past 20 years, every 2 years we have a upcycle, then 2 years downcycle. This time, we prefer not to define as a cycle issue from late of 2021 because it's government some specific control policy to let the overall demand could be deserted pretty fast.
Government have release or launch so many stimulus policies, but they still need to take some time to restore people or corporate confidence. This upcycle from late of 2024, it just could be a moderate recovery.
It's not like previous upcycle in 2021 or 2017, it's U-turn or V-shape. Once this time it just a moderate linear recovery, that's main reason why we expect it could be longer than 2 to 3 years.
It's just for our prediction. The lead time of the industry is pretty short.
We cannot ensure our prediction could be achieved 100% in coming years or in future.
Kenny Chen
I see. Thanks for the color.
If I may squeeze one last question, is that regarding the OpEx, I know usually you will not give us absolute number, but looking back on 2024 and 2025, you were so disciplined controlled, like NT$5.2 to 5.4 billion every year. Supposedly this year, I think given your guidance, you will probably have NT$400 billion 40 NT$40 billion revenue.
How should we think about this? Is there any ratio you will give us for as a OpEx rate target internally?
How should we think about this? I know you have answered that you will have operating leverage, but just for us modeling, if any color.
Thank you.
Tsao Yung-Hsiang
Basically, once we have good revenue scale, we could have pretty good leverage for OpEx. Marketing used to be around maybe high-single-digit to 10% of our revenue, and around 40% of the selling expenses is related to sales teams' bonus plan.
Our bonus plan used to based on revenue growth rate, OP margin, budget achievement, and the receivable received on time or not. Still depends on those variable issues to decide our selling expenses.
Most the general and administration expenses or R&D expenses could be fixed cost, but those two departments still can enjoy bonus plan based on OP margin of the subsidiary. Basically, we cannot give you any OpEx number by NT dollar, because most of our business or expenses still located in China based on RMB base.
Our functional currency still is RMB, but we listed in Taiwan, we have to transfer our financial statement from RMB to NT dollar. Once you just compare by NT dollar base, you still have some issue of the FX every year or every quarter is different.
Basically,
Kenny Chen
we
Tsao Yung-Hsiang
can say the percentage of the OpEx, selling expenses could be high-single-digit to 10%, and 3% administration expenses, around 3% could be R&D expenses.
Kenny Chen
I see. That's very helpful.
Thank you, Ivan.
Tsao Yung-Hsiang
My pleasure.
Operator
Thank you. I think we are running out of time.
Ivan, do you have anything else you want to remind us?
Tsao Yung-Hsiang
I'm fine. Thank you.
Operator
Okay. Thank you, Ivan, and thank you all for joining the call.
This conclude the call today. Thank you.
Have a good day. Thank you.
Bye-bye.
Tsao Yung-Hsiang
Thank you, Ellie, and thank you, everyone. Have a good day.
Operator
Bye.
Already premium?