(Yicai) Aug. 17 -- Swancor Advanced Materials, a Chinese maker of advanced materials, swung to a net loss in the first half amid surging research and development spending on its new consumer-grade robot business, while setting a target for a sevenfold net increase in the business's revenue by 2028.

The Shanghai-based company lost nearly CNY167 million (USD24.8 million) in the six months ended June 30, versus a net profit of CNY29.9 million (USD4.4 million) a year earlier, according to its latest earnings report. Revenue rose 2 percent to CNY803 million.

Founded in 1992, Swancor has traditionally made resins and other advanced materials used in wind turbine blades and composite products, which remain its only source of revenue and profit. The company has since expanded into consumer-grade robots, though the business was still in the R&D and application-scenario validation stage at the end of the reporting period, with market expansion and promotional efforts underway.

Swancor attributed the first-half loss to continued investment in its robot business, which develops robots for everyday personal and household use. R&D spending totaled CNY180 million in the period, with CNY164 million, or about 91 percent, going toward the robot business.

In the first half, R&D expenses accounted for 22 percent of Swancor's operating revenue, up from about 3 percent a year earlier, the financial report showed.

Alongside its earnings report, Swancor also unveiled its latest equity incentive plan, which targets a net increase of at least sevenfold in revenue from its robot business in 2028 compared with 2026. The plan calls for high revenue growth without a profit requirement and also sets benchmarks for new invention patents and R&D investment growth.

Investor enthusiasm over Swancor's robot push has remained strong. Swancor's share price [SHA: 688585] closed 2.4 percent higher at CNY171.38 (USD25.40) today despite the first-half loss, giving the company a market capitalization of CNY69.1 billion (USD10.2 billion). The shares have surged 22-fold since July 1, 2025.

Editor: Emmi Laine