On September 16, Monte-Bianco disclosed the "Record Sheet of Investor Relations Activities". Prior to this, the company's semi-annual report data did not look promising:
Operating revenue of CNY 279 million, a year-on-year decrease of 3.98%
Net loss attributable to shareholders of CNY 5.0972 million, a year-on-year decrease of 124.95%
Net loss attributable to shareholders after deducting non-recurring gains and losses of CNY 4.5752 million
Gross profit margin decreased by 3.98 percentage points year-on-year
The company explained that the performance decline was mainly due to the dual impact of phased weakness in market demand and product structure optimization.
As a national-level specialized, refined, differential, and innovative "Little Giant" enterprise and one of the leading companies in China's diamond tool industry, Monte-Bianco ranks among the top in the global market share of diamond tools for ceramic processing. However, the pressure on the traditional main business is a fact—this is not just a problem for one company, but a common challenge faced by the entire traditional diamond tool industry: demand in downstream industries such as ceramics, stone, and building materials is shrinking, and the era of "winning by volume" is coming to an end.
01. The Answer to Transformation: Targeting AI Chip Heat Dissipation
Just as the traditional business was under pressure, Monte-Bianco unveiled the company's "second curve" at the earnings briefing on September 15—diamond heat dissipation technology.
The logic behind this layout is not hard to understand: Given the continuous increase in power consumption of AI chips, traditional heat dissipation materials are gradually approaching their physical limits. In the trillion-level AI computing power competition, "heat dissipation", once an inconspicuous link, is becoming a key bottleneck restricting the release of chip performance. And diamond, with the highest thermal conductivity in nature (which can be more than 5 times that of copper), is regarded as one of the important directions to break through the bottleneck of chip heat dissipation.
The three technological reserves disclosed by Monte-Bianco outline a clear transformation roadmap:
① Diamond-based AlN Substrate Patent The company's invention patent "Preparation Method of a High-Quality Diamond-based AlN Substrate" focuses on enhancing the bonding force between diamond and AlN, combining the high thermal conductivity of diamond with the insulation property of AlN, mainly targeting the heat dissipation needs of high-power electronic devices.
② Large-size High Thermal Conductivity Diamond Film This project has been selected for the "Open Competition for the Best Candidates" scientific and technological research project of the Foshan National Innovation Institute, aiming to achieve industrialization breakthroughs in large-size diamond films and provide high-end heat dissipation solutions for the electronics industry.
③ Low-Temperature Bonding Technology The project "Key Technologies and Applications of High-Efficiency Forming and Fine Structure Regulation of CVD Diamond Heat Dissipation Materials" participated in by the company won the First Prize of the Science and Technology Award of the Chinese Materials Research Society. The disclosed data showing a 40% reduction in interfacial thermal resistance provides key performance support for the practical application of diamond heat dissipation substrates in high-power chip packaging.
02. A Sober Look: The Distance Between Dream and Reality
However, before the story of "going all-in on AI heat dissipation" becomes attractive, a few cold showers must be poured in advance:
Patent Not Yet Granted — The patent for the preparation method of the AlN substrate is currently still under application, and there is uncertainty about whether and when it will ultimately be granted.
No Commercial Application Yet — The related products have not achieved any commercial landing, and it is still too early to generate revenue.
Project Still in R&D Stage — The large-size diamond film project is still being promoted, and the timetable for industrialization is unclear.
In other words, the diamond heat dissipation business is difficult to make a substantive contribution to performance in the short term. What supports the company's financial statements at present is still the traditional diamond tool business that is under pressure.
03. Industry Perspective: Opportunities and Barriers in the Diamond Heat Dissipation Track
From an industry perspective, diamond heat dissipation is not a desperate gamble by Monte-Bianco alone. In recent years, the application of CVD diamond in the field of semiconductor thermal management has continued to heat up, with companies and research institutions at home and abroad accelerating their layouts. Scenarios such as AI servers, 5G base stations, and power devices for NEVs (New Energy Vehicles) have opened up broad imagination space for high thermal conductivity heat dissipation materials.
But behind the opportunities, the barriers are equally clear:
Technical Barrier: The scaled preparation of large-size, low-defect diamond films is a recognized difficulty in the industry;
Cost Barrier: The cost of CVD diamond is much higher than that of traditional heat dissipation materials, and the path to cost reduction is long;
Validation Barrier: Entering the chip packaging supply chain requires a long customer validation cycle;
Patent Barrier: The heat dissipation material track is patent-intensive, and first-mover advantages are obvious.
04. Conclusion: The "Time Lag" Test During the Transformation Period
Monte-Bianco is in a typical strategic transformation period—the traditional business is "bleeding", the new business is "gathering strength", and there is a "time lag" in between that must be endured.
Objectively speaking, the company's technological accumulation in the field of diamond functional applications is not a castle in the air: from patent layout to award-winning technologies, and then to being selected for local scientific and technological research projects, its technological foundation truly exists. But the capital market has always rewarded foresight while also questioning cash flow. The loss figures in the semi-annual report remind investors: before telling the story of the "chip future", the practical problems of "cutting, grinding, and polishing" must be solved first.
Can diamond heat dissipation become the "fever reducer" for AI chips? Can Monte-Bianco complete the leap from "tool leader" to "new material rising star"? The answer may not be revealed soon, but this transformation deserves continuous attention.
Source: Monte-Bianco
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