On March 5, Ligent Technologies resubmitted its listing application to the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with Citigroup Global Markets Asia Limited and CITIC Securities (Hong Kong) as joint sponsors. As a leading global supplier of optical communication and optical connectivity products, the company specializes in the R&D, manufacturing and sales of optical modules, optical chips and optical network terminals.

According to Frost & Sullivan, by global optical module revenue in 2024, the company ranked fifth among all pure‑play optical module vendors with a market share of 2.9%. In the Chinese optical module market, it ranked third with a 7.2% share. The company is also among the global leaders in multiple sub‑sectors including data communication optical modules and FTTx optical modules, and is one of the few companies worldwide with both R&D and mass production capabilities for optical modules and optical chips.

Business Model: Optical Modules as Core, Data Communication Drives Growth, Optical Chips Build Long‑Term Barriers

Ligent Technologies covers key segments of the optical communication industry chain, with a product portfolio structured as“optical modules as the mainstay, optical network terminals as supplements, and optical chips as the core”.

Optical modules represent the company’s core revenue source, accounting for 64.6%, 72.4% and 78.2% of revenue in 2023, 2024 and 2025 respectively, showing a continuous upward trend.

The rise of data communication optical modules has been particularly remarkable: revenue surged from RMB 1.056 billion in 2023 to RMB 5.469 billion in 2025, with its share jumping from 24.9% to 65.5%, becoming the absolute main driver. This explosive growth was mainly fueled by strong demand for high‑speed optical modules driven by AI clusters, cloud computing and data center construction.

The company is among the first Chinese manufacturers to successfully develop and mass‑produce 800G optical modules. Its 1.6T products have been sent to customers for verification, 3.2T products are under development, and breakthroughs have been achieved in cutting‑edge technologies such as LPO and LRO.

The revenue share of telecom optical modules declined from 39.7% in 2023 to 12.8% in 2025. Among them, FTTx optical modules represent the company’s traditional strength, having won the title of“Single Champion Product in Manufacturing”from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. The company is also among the world’s first developers of 50G PON optical modules.

The optical network terminal business maintained stable contribution, with its revenue share falling from 32.8% to 21.4%, reaching RMB 1.791 billion in 2025. Optical network terminal boxes are the main product in this segment; by revenue in China in 2024, the company ranked third among global pure‑play optical network terminal box vendors.

The optical chip business currently has a small revenue scale, at RMB 28.93 million (0.3%) in 2025, but carries prominent strategic value.

The company has achieved mass production of DFB laser chips, including 75mW high‑power CW‑DFB products. 10G EML chips are in mass production, while 50G EML and 100G/200G EML chips are under development. As one of the few optical module manufacturers worldwide with in‑house optical chip capabilities, this layout lays the foundation for upstream expansion, supply chain security and enhanced cost competitiveness.

In terms of customer structure, the company’s core customer base covers major Chinese and overseas cloud service providers, telecom and network equipment suppliers.

Revenue from the top five customers rose from 55.8% in 2023 to 70.2% in 2025, while the largest customer’s share fell from 32.1% to 21.8%, indicating still‑high but structurally improved customer concentration.

The company mainly adopts a direct sales model, with distributors contributing less than 2% of revenue.

Financial Performance: AI Demand Ignites Performance, Revenue and Profit Surge

Financial data shows Ligent Technologies is in a rapid growth phase driven by AI computing power demand.

Revenue grew 20.0% from RMB 4.239 billion (2023) to RMB 5.087 billion (2024), and surged to RMB 8.355 billion (2025), up 64.3% year‑on‑year.

The core growth driver was data communication optical modules, whose revenue jumped 97.0% in 2025, contributing most of the annual incremental growth.

Profitability improved substantially in tandem:

Gross profit increased from RMB 883 million (2024) to RMB 1.672 billion (2025), up 89.35% year‑on‑year.

Gross margin rebounded from 17.4% to 20.0%, driven by product mix optimization and a higher share of high‑margin data communication optical modules.

Optical chip business recorded negative gross margins in 2024 and 2025 due to insufficient revenue scale to cover fixed costs, but the impact on overall results was limited.

Net profit was especially strong:

Net profit reached RMB 873 million in 2025, surging 875.1% year‑on‑year.

Net margin soared from 1.8% (2024) to 10.4% (2025).

The sharp profit growth was driven by operating leverage from expanding revenue, improved gross margin, and a one‑time gain of RMB 353 million from the disposal of a joint venture. Excluding this gain, underlying profitability still improved significantly.

In terms of expense structure:

R&D expenditure was the largest item, at RMB 553 million, RMB 623 million and RMB 664 million in 2023, 2024 and 2025 respectively, falling from 13.1% to 7.9% of revenue, reflecting scale efficiencies.

Selling and marketing expenses remained low and trended downward, at 0.9% of revenue in 2025.

In cash flow:

Net cash used in operating activities was RMB 616 million in 2024, mainly due to higher receivables and inventory amid rapid expansion.

As of the end of 2025, net assets rose to RMB 3.758 billion, with ample liquidity.

Technological Strength and Market Outlook: High R&D Investment Builds Barriers, AI and Computing Power Open Growth Space

As a technology‑driven enterprise, R&D is Ligent Technologies’core competitiveness.

The company has built a cross‑regional R&D network covering Qingdao, Wuhan, Silicon Valley and Singapore. As of the end of 2025, it had more than 780 R&D personnel, accounting for about 74% of non‑manufacturing employees, with approximately 46% holding master’s or doctoral degrees. Core R&D staff had an average of about 20 years of industry experience. In 2024, both R&D expense ratio and R&D headcount ratio ranked among the top Chinese optical communication product manufacturers.

In intellectual property:

As of the Latest Practicable Date, the company owned 1,525 global patents and 746 pending patent applications, including 860 invention patents.

It is a founding or member entity of 18 industry standardization organizations, has participated in establishing 60 industry standards, and acted as the lead editor for multiple standards.

The optical communication industry is entering a new growth cycle.

The development of AI and cloud computing is accelerating data center construction.

The global number of data center racks is expected to reach 139.8 million by 2029, representing a CAGR of 32.8% from 2024.

Meanwhile, global computing power is projected to surge from 2,207.0 EFLOPS (2024) to 12,817.4 EFLOPS (2029), at a CAGR of 42.2%.

Conclusion

Ligent Technologies’refiling demonstrates a technology leader in the global optical module market achieving explosive growth amid the AI computing power boom.

With data communication optical modules as its core engine, the company has continuously optimized its revenue structure and significantly improved profitability.

While investors should monitor factors including the early‑stage optical chip business, relatively high customer concentration and cash flow pressure during expansion, the company maintains clear first‑mover advantages in technology, customer resources and industrial chain layout.

Benefiting from the solid trend of AI‑driven computing infrastructure upgrading, and as one of the few global players with both optical module and optical chip capabilities, Ligent Technologies is well‑positioned to expand its share in the hundred‑billion‑scale optical communication market and strengthen its leading industry position.

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