Recently, the results of listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets for the whole year of 2020 and the first quarter of 2021 have been disclosed. According to the announcement of listed companies, Battery Network counted the performance of 35 listed companies of cathode materials and upstream cobalt and lithium raw materials and found that the performance of industrial chain companies showed obvious signs of recovery in the first quarter of this year: as many as 30 companies achieved growth in both operating income and net profit in the first quarter, compared with only 16 in 2020.
In terms of operating income, the operating income of 35 companies, including 35 companies, totaled 584.434 billion yuan in 2020, with an average operating income of 16.698 billion yuan. Zijin Mining, Luoyang Molybdenum, Sichuan Luqiao, Sinochem International, Shengtun Mining, Huayou Cobalt, Xiamen Tungsten, * ST Salt Lake, Green Mei, Yulong shares and other 10 companies have operating income of more than 10 billion yuan, of which Zijin Mining and Luoyang Molybdenum Industry have operating income of more than 100 billion yuan. There is only one Yulong share in the doubling of operating income, while there are as many as 15 companies with negative growth.
In the first quarter of 2021, the operating income of 35 companies totaled 174.248 billion yuan, with an average operating income of 4.978 billion yuan. Among them, the revenue of Zijin Mining, Luoyang Molybdenum, Sinochem International, Sichuan Luqiao and Shengtun Mining exceeded 10 billion yuan; 10 companies' operating income more than doubled compared with the same period last year, but there were also 4 companies with negative revenue growth.
In terms of net profit, the net profit of 35 companies in 2020 totaled 17.316 billion yuan, with an average net profit of 495 million yuan. Among them, Zijin Mining, Sichuan Luqiao, Luoyang Molybdenum Industry, * ST Salt Lake, Huayou Cobalt Industry, Ganfeng Lithium Industry and other 6 companies have a net profit of more than 1 billion yuan; 12 companies have negative net profit growth; 5 companies have lost money.
In the first quarter of 2021, the net profits of 35 companies totaled 9.668 billion yuan, with an average net profit of 276 million yuan. Among them, the net profits of Zijin Mining, Sichuan Luqiao and Luoyang Molybdenum exceeded 1 billion yuan. Among them, Ganfeng Lithium, Hainan Mining, Sinochem International, Shengtun Mining and Yahua Group increased more than 10 times; only one company lost money and one company with negative growth.
It is worth noting that 30 of the 35 companies can find out the R & D expenditure. Specifically, there are 23 companies whose R & D expenses are increasing in the first quarter of 2021, 9 of which have more than doubled; 7 companies, including Xiamen Tungsten Industry, Sinochem International, Shanshan Co., Sichuan Road and Bridge, Green Mei, Zijin Mining, Huayou Cobalt, etc., with R & D expenses of more than 100 million yuan. In 2020, there are 19 companies whose R & D expenses are increasing, 3 of which have more than doubled; 16 companies have spent more than 100 million yuan on R & D, but only Sichuan Road and Bridge has spent more than 1 billion yuan.
In addition, in terms of sales gross margin, 18 companies sold gross margins of more than 20% in the first quarter of 2021 and 14 companies sold gross margins of more than 20% in 2020.
Overall, the performance of listed companies of cathode materials and upstream cobalt and lithium raw materials in the first quarter of this year was significantly better than that of last year. Judging from the information disclosed in the annual reports of listed companies, the main reason is that since the second half of 2020, the prosperity of the battery industry has rebounded, and affected by epidemic and policy factors, the supply of cobalt and lithium resources that rely heavily on imports is limited, leading to the "rise" of battery materials and upstream raw materials. Leading companies are basically operating at full production, and the volume and prices of products of relevant listed companies have risen, and their profits have increased substantially.
Take lithium iron phosphate cathode material as an example, at the beginning of January this year, the average price of domestic power superior product lithium iron phosphate was less than 38000 yuan / ton, and the current quotation has exceeded 50, 000 yuan / ton.
Yu Qingjiao, secretary-general of the Zhongguancun New Battery Technology Innovation Alliance and chairman of the Battery 100 Association, believes that the general rise in the price of battery materials is due to the mismatch between supply and demand and the overissuance of global currency, and it is expected that the price increase will continue, but the rate of increase will slow down. For example, the market penetration of lithium iron phosphate has obviously accelerated in the past six months, and low cost and high safety are the key factors. if the price increases too much and the cost advantage is no longer, the market demand will slow down.
In addition, the (IEA) of the International Energy Agency said on May 5 that western countries should consider stockpiling key battery metals such as cobalt and lithium, in a stern warning of the geopolitical risks that accompany the green energy transition.
According to the China Lithium Industry Development report released by the Lithium Industry Branch of China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association, the distribution of lithium reserves in the world is extremely uneven, mainly concentrated in Chile, Australia and Argentina, accounting for about 75% of the world's lithium reserves.
The Battery Network noted that domestic companies have always attached great importance to the advance layout and control of cobalt, lithium, nickel and other battery raw materials. Since the beginning of this year, a series of companies have increased the layout: on April 10, Ningde era and Luoyang Molybdenum Industry reached omni-directional strategic cooperation in the field of new energy metal resources to develop KFM copper and cobalt ore. On March 23, in order to seize the opportunity of nickel resources, Greenmei passed a motion to increase the stake in the Indonesian nickel resources project to 72%. On March 1, Qingshan Industries signed a high nickel supply agreement with Huayou Cobalt and Zhongwei. The three parties jointly agreed that Qingshan Industry will supply 60, 000 tons of high matte nickel to Huayou Cobalt Industry and 40, 000 tons of high matte nickel to Zhongwei Co., Ltd. in October 2021; on February 28, the people's Government of Yichun City and Guoxuan holding Group Co., Ltd. signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement in Yichun to invest 11.5 billion yuan in the construction of lithium power new energy industry projects, including lithium carbonate production, lithium battery supporting materials and other industrialization projects.
According to data from EVTank, China Battery Industry Research Institute and Ivy Economic Research Institute, lithium-ion battery shipments in China increased from 30.4Gwh in 2014 to 158.5 GWH in 2020, accounting for 53.8% of the global total. In 2025, the global demand for lithium-ion batteries is expected to officially enter the TWH era, in which the demand for automotive power batteries will reach 919.4Gwh.
The improving demand for lithium batteries will further boost the demand for cathode materials and their upstream raw materials.
On the supply side, due to the greater uncertainty in the epidemic situation and policy situation of COVID-19 abroad, it is expected that the increment of global cobalt, lithium, and nickel resources supply will be limited this year, and the downstream demand will continue to grow, while the supply will be limited, which may provide support for the rise in the prices of cathode materials and their upstream raw materials.
