China's Machine Tool Industry Sees Mild Recovery in H1 as Orders Rise

China's machine tool industry showed a mild recovery in the first half of 2026, with 8 of 12 listed industrial machine tool makers posting double growth in revenue and net profit, according to Jiemian News. Among the companies tracked, Genesis Technology led revenue at 3.205 billion yuan and net profit at 301 million yuan, while Qinchuan Machine Tool ranked second in revenue at 2.34 billion yuan and Haitian Precision ranked second in net profit at 283 million yuan. Zhejiang Headman posted the fastest growth, with first-half revenue up 45.89% year on year and net profit surging 479.25%. Several companies said the improvement was driven by stronger demand for high-end CNC machine tools, as well as faster growth in parts processing demand from AI, robotics and other emerging industries. Genesis Technology said first-half new orders reached 5.255 billion yuan, up 79% from a year earlier, while contract liabilities rose 82.05% from the start of the year. Its AI hardware segment, including liquid cooling and optical modules, saw new orders jump 352.8% and account for about 20% of total orders; new energy vehicle orders rose 217% and embodied robotics orders increased 84%. Zhejiang Headman also reported stronger order growth, with first-half new orders exceeding 600 million yuan, up 26.09%. Orders from the automotive segment rose 13.1%, general equipment orders increased 48.68%, and orders from AI liquid cooling, robotics and the power sector climbed 203.96%, 219.23% and 486.39%, respectively. The China Machine Tool & Tool Builders' Association said the industry generated 530.9 billion yuan in revenue in the first half, up 7.6%, and 19.6 billion yuan in total profit, up 110.8%. It also said new orders and orders on hand for metalworking machine tools rose 9.2% and 12.1%. Not all companies benefited from the rebound. Huazhong CNC reported a first-half net loss of 91.2746 million yuan, with the loss widening 12% year on year after R&D spending rose 58.71% to 278 million yuan. Shenyang Machine Tool swung to a loss of 19.4521 million yuan from a profit a year earlier, while revenue slipped 1.41% to 1.863 billion yuan. Genesis Technology, Shenyang Machine Tool, Huazhong CNC and Huadong CNC all posted negative operating cash flow in the period.