Recently, domestic industrial welding-robot leader Kelda Robotics released its 2026 interim report. Revenue reached RMB 425 million, up 34.73 per cent; net profit attributable to shareholders RMB 28.269 million, up 1,095.30 per cent; non-recurring net profit RMB 24.095 million, swinging from a RMB 2.734 million loss to profit, up over 980 per cent; comprehensive gross margin 19.38 per cent, up 10.65 points; net margin 6.01 per cent, sharply improved.
But operating cash flow net was a RMB 5.631 million deficit, versus RMB 11.043 million a year earlier, turning from positive to negative.
Since listing, Kelda’s net profit swung: 2021 to 2023 fell three years running from RMB 59.84 million to RMB 24.87 million; a small 2024 recovery to RMB 31.24 million, then 2025 back to RMB 26.17 million. This tenfold-plus first-half surge is a positive signal.
From a Wenzhou workshop, decades in industrial welding, Kelda is now a domestic welding-robot leader. As early as 2017 its self-developed servo-welding gear entered production, among China’s first. It now holds a complete technology of industrial-robot plus welding know-how and is a national “little giant” specialised firm.
Notably, Yaskawa, one of the global robotics Big Four, holds 8.75 per cent of Kelda via Yaskawa (China), its second-largest shareholder. Beyond capital, the two bind stably both ways: Yaskawa companies are Kelda’s main external robot-body suppliers, while Kelda sells Yaskawa specialised welding gear. In first-half 2026, externally sold industrial robots used outside-purchased bodies 58.46 per cent of the time, with Yaskawa bodies 57.90 per cent of sold units. Kelda’s related purchases from Yaskawa reached RMB 174.869 million, 50.72 per cent of goods procurement; sales to Yaskawa RMB 14.148 million, 3.33 per cent of revenue.
Securing Yaskawa also reflects Kelda’s persistent core-tech R&D. In first-half 2026 alone R&D was RMB 20.87 million, with 188 IP items including 59 domestic and 1 foreign invention patents.
R&D focused on collaborative robots, intelligent welding, high-end cutting gear and core sensors, with stage results. In whole industrial-robot tech, its integrated drive-control collaborative joint reached engineering-prototype testing; the KX950 collaborative body entered small-batch trial. In welding and integration, its pulsed servo wire-feed system passed prototype validation and entered small-batch trial.
In welding gear, it completed a high-power CNC inverter air-plasma cutter and a full-digital arc-welding power supply, broadening the line. In sensors, MEMS six-axis force products stay in internal sample testing; some strain single-axis torque and six-axis force sensors finished development, with few samples sent.
Continuous R&D drove steady growth: self-made robot sales rose, core competitiveness strengthened. In first-half 2026 Kelda industrial-robot revenue was RMB 302.253 million, up 39.04 per cent; volume 3,385 units, up 42.77 per cent; self-made robots 1,406 units, up 44.21 per cent; welding-gear revenue RMB 95.593 million, up 27.31 per cent.
While consolidating welding robotics, Kelda made humanoids a core strategic track, founding Hangzhou Kelda Humanoid Robotics at end-2024. In first-half 2026 it posted no revenue and a RMB 7,911 loss, with wide future room.
Through 2026 it kept investing to build the humanoid ecosystem: January, the humanoid unit took controlling stake in force-torque sensor firm Kaiweili; February, it subscribed RMB 30 million for 70 per cent of Jietuo Zhijie; March, RMB 30 million for 18.11 per cent of “Zhejiang-University-line” quadruped newcomer Jingshi Tech. With Jingshi it launched the “Black Panther 2.0” quadruped and industrial “Apollo”, the latter climbing 20-centimetre steps, crossing rubble, IP67 waterproof, wheel-foot model carrying 70 kg, over six hours empty endurance.
Editor’s note: This is an adapted translation of the original OFweek Robot report. It has been trimmed and restructured for readability for an international business audience.