Gree welcomes a new board secretary with a financial background. Can it really save Gree Air Conditioning?

Since the resignation of former Secretary Wang Jingdong, who will take up the post of Secretary to the Board of Gree Electric Appliances has been attracting attention from the outside world.

More than four months later, this important position finally welcomed a new successor. On December 27, Gree Electric announced in the evening that after being nominated by the nomination committee of the company's board of directors, the board of directors agreed to appoint Mr. Deng Xiaobo as the company's vice president and secretary of the board of directors. In addition, it also agreed to appoint Mr. Shu Lizhi as the company's vice president, with a term starting from the approval of this meeting. From the date until the expiration date of the eleventh session of the Board of Directors.

Gree Electric appoints new vice president and secretary to the board of directors

In August this year, after the former vice president and secretary of the board of directors Wang Jingdong resigned, company director Zhang Wei took over the duties of secretary to the board of directors. , after three months, Dong Mingzhu, chairman of Gree Electric Appliances, will act as secretary of the board of directors.

Who will become the new secretary-general of Gree Electric Appliances has attracted much attention from the market.

On the afternoon of December 27, Gree Electric announced that upon nomination by the company’s nomination committee of the board of directors, the board of directors agreed to appoint Deng Xiaobo as the company’s vice president and secretary of the board of directors.

According to the announcement, Deng Xiaobo joined Gree Electric in November 2020. From July 2015 to November 2020, Deng Xiaobo served as a director of Shaanxi Coal and Chemical Industry Group Finance Co., Ltd. (referred to as Shaanxi Coal Group Finance Company) A long job.

Judging from Gree Electric’s current senior management team, they are basically all personnel trained within the company. In comparison, Deng Xiaobo had no interaction with the Gree system before.

According to the official Weibo of Shaanxi Coal Group Finance Company, on the afternoon of November 17, Shaanxi Coal Finance Company held a cadre meeting to announce the decision to adjust the main person in charge. Yang Xuan, member of the Party Committee and Chief Accountant of Shaanxi Coal Group, Zhu Kai, Deputy Director of the Party Committee Work Department, the leadership team of Shaanxi Coal Finance Company and heads of various departments attended the meeting. Li Yingbin, general manager of the company, presided over the meeting.

Zhu Kai read out the group company’s adjustment decision: Comrade Deng Xiaobo was agreed to resign as chairman and director of Shaanxi Coal and Chemical Group Finance Co., Ltd. During this period, Comrade Yang Xuan, member of the party committee and chief accountant of the group company, was responsible for the work of Shaanxi Coal Finance Company and performed the duties of chairman of the finance company.

Deng Xiaobo made an affectionate speech. He said that he has spent nearly ten years in the company from the preparation of the financial company to the present, and many things are vivid in his mind. Thanks to the regulatory authorities, group companies, company team and all employees for their help, support and understanding. At the same time, I believe that the Finance Company, under the leadership of the new team, will surely play a greater functional role in the group’s new journey of building a world-class enterprise.

It is worth noting that in addition to announcing a new secretary to the board of directors, Gree Electric also appointed Shu Lizhi as the company’s vice president.

The information shows that Shu Lizhi has a master’s degree. Joined Gree Electric in December 2019. He once served as deputy director and director of the Wuhan Special Office of the National Audit Office. Interestingly, Shu Lizhi came from the National Audit Office, while Wang Jingdong served as the chief clerk of the Guangzhou Special Commissioner Office of the National Audit Office before coming to Gree Electric Appliances.

Gree’s stock price has significantly underperformed Midea during the year

As a representative of blue-chip stocks and both belonging to the home appliance industry, the market has been comparing Gree Electric to Midea Group.

But judging from this year’s stock price, Gree Electric’s performance is unsatisfactory. Since the beginning of this year, as of December 25, Midea Group has risen by 64.99%, while Gree Electric has fallen by 6.52%.

In terms of performance, Gree Electric has been even more affected by the epidemic.

Data show that in the first three quarters of this year, Gree Electric recorded revenue of 127.468 billion yuan, down 18.64% from the same period last year; it recorded net profit attributable to the parent company of 13.699 billion yuan, down 38.06% from the same period last year. . Compared with Midea Group, another home appliance leader, Gree Electric's total operating income and net profit attributable to the parent company lag behind Midea's by 90.2 billion yuan and 8.3 billion yuan respectively.

In recent years, Gree Electric has strived for diversified development, with its industry covering four major fields: air conditioners, household appliances, high-end equipment and communication equipment. However, from the perspective of revenue structure, the air-conditioning business has always accounted for the majority of total revenue. Compared with Midea Group and Haier Smart Home, its diversification process may be slower.

However, based on Gree Electric’s “hard power” in the field of air conditioners, many analysts are still optimistic about Gree Electric’s subsequent performance.

Among them, BOC Securities stated that Gree Electric Appliances’ shareholding reform was completed at the end of 2019, and Gree Electric Appliances started channel changes. We are optimistic about the share recovery brought about by Gree Electric's channel reform. It pointed out that the essence of channel reform is the redistribution of profits in the industrial chain, and Gree's position in the industrial chain provides it with dominance. According to the dismantling of the industrial chain profits of different manufacturers, Gree's proportion of the industrial chain profits is significantly higher than that of other brands. The past dominant position in the industrial chain provided Gree Electric with the initiative in channel reform. In addition, the industrial chain barriers brought by the industrial scale provide Gree with a strong safety margin. The annual global demand for household air conditioners is about 200 million units, of which more than 70% of air conditioner production comes from China. Gree accounts for about 30% of China's air conditioner production. The high market share provides Gree Electric with a profit margin guarantee and a strong safety margin.

It is worth noting that despite the poor stock price performance, foreign investors have always favored Gree, and even directly "bought up" Gree.

Previously, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange announced that since the total overseas shareholding ratio of Gree Electric Appliances exceeds 28%, Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect will suspend accepting buying orders for the stock from December 14, and selling orders will still be accepted. . In addition, under the chain reaction, MSCI announced that Gree Electric Appliances will be removed from the MSCI standard index and large-cap series, effective from December 17.