A Chinese welding-robot maker backed by one of Japan’s big four robot groups has posted a profit jump that dwarfs its recent history, and the numbers point to a wider industrial-robot recovery in the country.
Profit up more than tenfold
Keda reported first-half 2026 revenue of 425 million yuan, up 34.73 per cent, and net profit attributable to shareholders of 28.27 million yuan, up 1,095.30 per cent. Stripping out one-offs, profit swung from a 2.73 million yuan loss a year earlier to a 24.10 million yuan gain, a rise above 980 per cent. Gross margin reached 19.38 per cent, up 10.65 percentage points, and net margin 6.01 per cent, a clear repair in earnings quality. Only operating cash flow stayed negative at 5.63 million yuan, narrower than the prior year’s outflow.
The surge breaks a weak stretch. Net profit slid from 59.84 million yuan in 2021 to 24.87 million in 2023, edged up to 31.24 million in 2024, then dipped to 26.17 million in 2025. The first half of 2026 resets that trend.
The Yaskawa link
Yaskawa Electric, one of the global robot majors, holds 8.75 per cent of Keda through Yaskawa China, making it the second-largest shareholder. The tie is operational, not just capital. Yaskawa-group companies are Keda’s main supplier of complete robot units, while Keda sells robot-specific welding gear to them. In the first half, 58.46 per cent of Keda’s externally sold industrial robots used bought-in complete units, and Yaskawa units made up 57.90 per cent of those. Related purchases from Yaskawa-group firms reached 174.87 million yuan, or 50.72 per cent of total procurement, while sales to them were 14.15 million yuan, or 3.33 per cent of revenue.
Where the growth comes from
Industrial-robot revenue hit 302.25 million yuan, up 39.04 per cent, on sales of 3,385 units, up 42.77 per cent, of which 1,406 self-made units rose 44.21 per cent. Welding-equipment revenue was 95.59 million yuan, up 27.31 per cent. Research spending was 20.87 million yuan, backing 188 intellectual-property rights including 59 domestic invention patents. Keda is pushing collaborative robots, intelligent welding and high-end sensors, and has set humanoid robots as a core strategic track through a subsidiary founded at the end of 2024.
Through that unit it has taken stakes in force-sensor maker Kavili, robotic-intelligence firm Kaituo Zhijie and legged-robot startup Jingshi Tech, and with partners has shown four-legged robots such as the Black Panther 2.0 and Apollo that climb 20 cm steps, reach IP67 waterproofing and carry 70 kg in wheel-leg form with over six hours of endurance.
Editor’s note: This is an adapted translation of the original OFweek report. It has been trimmed and restructured for readability for an international business audience. The full original (in Chinese) is at https://robot.ofweek.com/2026-09/ART-8321202-8120-30701652.html.