(Yicai) Feb. 27 -- Roborock Technology, China's second-biggest seller of robot vacuum cleaners, had a bigger profit last year than market leader Ecovacs Robotics after focusing on foreign markets amid slowing domestic growth. 

Roborock’s net profit surged 74 percent to CNY2.1 billion (USD291.8 million) in the 12 months ended Dec. 31 from the year before, while revenue jumped 31 percent to CNY8.7 billion, the Beijing-based partner of Xiaomi wrote in an earnings report released yesterday.

Roborock’s bottom line was boosted by expansion overseas, where it also benefited from rising consumer demand, the company said, adding that it launched new products and adjusted prices, which buoyed profitability.

Shares of Roborock [SHA: 688169] ended 0.2 percent lower at CNY326.75 (USD45.39) apiece in Shanghai today, extending the stock’s gain to more than 15 percent this year to date.

Last month, sales king Ecovacs predicted a 60 percent to 65 percent drop in net profit last year to between CNY600 million and CNY680 million (USD83.4 million and USD94.5 million), with a modest uptick in revenue.

Suzhou-based Ecovacs said the gross margin on robot vacuum cleaners and mops shrank as the average price of home robots fell. The firm also needed to spend more on research, development, and marketing at new businesses, including robots for commercial use, lawnmowers, and smart cookers, it added.

Ecovacs plans to make efforts to improve its operating performance, it said, adding that part of that is a push for growth overseas. The company will control spending on new businesses while adjusting the price ranges of core products and taking more effective measures to lower costs, it said.

The domestic market for robot vacuum cleaners expanded more slowly in the past two years. In the first 11 months of last year, sales rose by 9 percent to CNY12.6 billion (USD1.8 billion) from a year earlier, up from 3 percent in 2022 but down from 28 percent in 2021, according to market researcher All View Cloud. 

Editors: Dou Shicong, Emmi Laine