Lithium ternary material promising prospects in the field of electrical motor control

Data show that from January to September this year, the production and sales of new energy vehicles increased by 40.2% and 37.7% respectively year-on-year. With the promotion of policies, new energy vehicles still face greater opportunities for development. The growth of the entire industry chain is driven, and the prosperity of the upstream raw materials sector is expected to continue. In the middle and lower reaches, electrical and electronic control and batteries, etc., are expected to see a turnaround or further improvement.

Raw material prices continue to rise

Ronghui Lithium, BJJ, Jinyuan New Materials, Jinchuan Technology, Sino First, Jiayuan Technology, Jinli Permanent Magnet and other new three board companies are engaged in the production of raw materials for new energy vehicles, including lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide and cobalt sulfate. , osmium tetroxide, electrolytic copper foil, permanent magnetic materials, etc.

In the first half of this year, the overall performance of these companies increased significantly. Data show that the above-mentioned seven companies achieved operating income of 3.05 billion yuan in the first half of the year, a year-on-year increase of 62%; net profit attributable to their mothers was 706 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 288%. The significant increase in performance was mainly due to strong downstream demand, and the prices of related products remained high. Taking Ronghui Lithium as an example, the company stated that the market for lithium new energy continues to be hot, demand for lithium batteries remains strong, industry development opportunities are prominent, and demand for lithium carbonate materials from downstream manufacturers is still strong, and lithium carbonate prices remain high.

It is worth noting that the performance of cobalt companies has increased tremendously. Jinchuan Technology Co., Ltd. produced cobalt tetroxide, cobalt metal, nickel cobalt manganese, and achieved a net profit of 447 million yuan in the first half of this year, an increase of 2545.63% over the same period of last year. The company stated that the price of cobalt metal rose rapidly in the first half of the year and the price of the company’s products increased significantly. In particular, the nickel-cobalt-manganese triple precursor product has completed the certification of many customers, and the production and sales volume has increased significantly compared with the previous year. Jinyuan New Materials produced battery-grade cobalt tetroxide, cobalt sulfate and industrial-grade lithium carbonate. In the first half of this year, it achieved a net profit of 13.263 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 835.34%. The company stated that with the development of the new energy industry, the demand for the downstream industry chain has increased; at the same time, since 2017, the cobalt market has recovered and prices have continued to rise.

Some of the company's performance growth is smaller. BaiJerui produces lithium salts, which are mainly used in new energy vehicles, energy storage and 3C electronics. In the first half of the year, net profit only increased by 5.88% year-on-year. The main reason is that the price of raw materials for lithium salt continued to fluctuate at a high level in the first half of the year, and rose slightly. The company has adopted appropriate non-operating measures on sales prices for long-term customers.

According to industry analysts, the prospects for the development of new energy vehicles are good. Cobalt is an important element of power battery cathode materials, and demand is growing rapidly. Cobalt prices have risen by about 60% since the beginning of this year and have been adjusted recently. However, they are still expected to rise in the fourth quarter, which will still have a positive impact on the performance of related companies.

Good prospects for ternary materials

The positive electrode material of the power battery has a great influence on the battery performance and has a high added value. Anda Technologies, Betrix, Tianli Lithium Energy, Ousai Energy, Gold Lithium Technology and other 12 new three-plate companies produce cathode materials. From the operating situation in the first half of this year, the performance of Sanyuan Materials Co., Ltd. has increased rapidly, while the performance of lithium iron phosphate companies has declined to some extent.

According to the data, in the first half of the year, the above-mentioned 12 companies achieved operating revenue of 4.944 billion yuan, an increase of approximately 49% year-on-year; and a net profit of 560 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 26.3%. The overall growth is relatively fast. From the perspective of the performance growth of ternary materials and lithium iron phosphate related companies, there are significant differences. The net profit of seven lithium iron phosphate companies, such as Anda Technologies and Zhuo Neng Materials, all declined during the first half of the year. Among them, three companies suffered losses. In the first half of the year, Anda Technologies’ operating income decreased by 16.29% over the same period of last year; net profit decreased by 51.05% compared to the same period of last year; gross profit margin decreased from 44.99% in the same period last year to 31.81%. The main reason is that the price of the product lithium iron phosphate has been properly adjusted. In addition, the price of battery-grade lithium carbonate, the main raw material, has risen, causing the cost of lithium iron phosphate to rise. Jiuzhao Technology Co., Ltd. recorded a loss of 4.97 million yuan in the first half of the year, and realized a net profit of 4.57 million yuan in the same period last year The company stated that due to the adjustment of new energy vehicle subsidy policy, the output, sales volume and revenue of major products in the first half of 2017 have dropped significantly, while the new product, lithium iron phosphate A15, is still in the stage of R&D and customer verification.

In a clear contrast, the company's five ternary materials such as Shanshan Energy and Zhenhua Xincai achieved operating income of 3.05 billion yuan in the first half of the year, a year-on-year increase of 96.4%; and a net profit of 331 million yuan, an increase of 161%. Shanshan Energy produced lithium cobalt oxide and multiple cathode materials. Its operating income in the first half of the year increased by 88.99% compared with the same period of last year; net profit increased by 166.68% compared with the same period of last year. This is mainly due to the expansion of company's production capacity, optimization of customer structure, sales growth of high-end new products, and strengthening of cost control. The main products of Zhenhua Xincai are Lithium, Cobalt, Nickel and Manganese ternary, Lithium cobaltate, and Compound Ternary. In the first half year, operating income increased by 168% year-on-year, and net profit increased by 564% year-on-year. The main reason is that the company’s customer demand has soared, sales of power ternary materials have soared, and sales volume has increased by 2453 tons year-on-year, an increase of 424.41%.

According to industry sources, the significant increase in the demand for ternary cathode materials and the decline in the performance of lithium iron phosphate companies are mainly driven by policy drivers. The new energy vehicle subsidy policy issued in 2017 raised the battery energy density requirement, and the ternary material could meet the high performance demand, so the demand increased substantially, which promoted the growth of Sanyuan cathode material company's performance. The future ternary material market penetration will be further improved and the development prospect is good.

Wet diaphragm will be in short supply

Jinli Group, Nuomemi Technology, Huiqiang New Materials, Yingbolai, and Xucheng Technology have engaged in the diaphragm business. In the first half of this year, the overall performance of the company remained stable and rapid growth.

Data show that these five companies achieved operating income of 238 million yuan in the first half of the year, a year-on-year increase of 28%; and a net profit of 42.7 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 32%. There is a certain difference in the performance of each company. Among the five companies, three companies increased year-on-year, and two companies decreased year-on-year. Jinli shares focus on the R&D and production of high-end lithium battery wet diaphragms and coated diaphragms. In the first half of the year, net profit increased by 2494% year-on-year. The company stated that the lithium battery industry has maintained stable and rapid development and the company's production capacity has increased. At the same time, the production process has been improved, the product yield rate has increased, the increase in production capacity has led to a decrease in fixed costs, and the gross profit rate has increased from 30.18% in the same period last year to 42.9%.

However, in the same industry environment, Asahi Technology’s first-half net profit, which is also mainly engaged in the development and production of lithium battery separators, has dropped by 39.28% year-on-year. According to the company, due to the fall in subsidy standards for new energy vehicles in 2017 and the stringent subsidy standards, as well as policy factors such as local subsidy policies not being promptly landed, the battery production of downstream customers’ battery manufacturers has declined, and the demand for battery separator products has increased. Slow down.

In the same market environment, the actual business performance of the company is different. Apart from some special factors, it generally reflects the differences in competitiveness among different companies, including technology, quality, and marketing. According to industry analysts, diaphragms are the highest technical barriers in lithium battery materials, and have high value-added products. They are optimistic about companies that have mastered wet diaphragm manufacturing technologies. From the perspective of supply and demand in the industry, the wet diaphragm production process is difficult and the yield rate is affected. It is expected that the effective capacity of the wet diaphragm will be lower than the industry demand in 2017, and the wet diaphragm manufacturing enterprises will face a good market environment.

Battery company's gross profit rate drops

Ten new shares, Weining Power, Shanmu Xinneng, Dingxin Open Source, Hui Nengxia, Heidis, Xinghai Energy, Sisheng Energy, Tianfeng Power, and Table Energy share 10 new three-plate companies producing new energy car batteries. From the operating situation in the first half of the year, the above-mentioned enterprises realized a total operating income of 1.675 billion yuan, an increase of 65% year-on-year; and a net profit of 109 million yuan, an increase of 31% over the same period of last year. The growth rate of net profit is much lower than the growth rate of income. The gross profit margin also dropped significantly. Among the above 10 companies, the gross profit rate of the first half of the year dropped by a large margin compared with the same period of the previous year, generally falling by about 6 percentage points, and falling by more than 11 percentage points.

Among them, Tianfeng Power's operating income in the first half of the year increased by 67.87%, while net profit attributable to mothers only increased by 2.24%. In the first half of the year, the overall gross profit rate was 26.94%, a decrease of 11.78 percentage points from the 38.72% of the gross profit rate in the same period of the previous year. The company stated that with the implementation of the new energy automobile policy, the company’s auto power battery sales have increased significantly and its operating income has increased. The decrease in gross profit margin is mainly due to the impact of price factors on the company’s auto power battery, while increasing the production and sales of other power batteries with low gross profit margin. Weining Power's operating income rose 8% year-on-year in the first half of the year, while net profit fell 18.31% year-on-year. The company stated that during the reporting period, operating costs increased due to rising prices of upstream raw materials.

With the increase in the sales volume of electric vehicles, the demand for batteries continues to increase. As a result, battery companies have achieved greater growth in revenue, but the increase in net profit is much lower than the increase in operating income. Professionals said that this is mainly due to the continued rise in raw material prices in the upper reaches. According to Wind statistics, the average price of cobalt 1# in the Yangtze non-ferrous metal market was less than 300,000 yuan/ton at the beginning of this year, and reached approximately RMB 415,000/ton at the end of the first half of this year, but it is currently about RMB 450,000/ton. At the same time, lithium prices have risen significantly this year. Despite the obvious increase in operating income of battery companies, the increase in cost is even greater, and the increase is even greater. The net profit margin is squeezed. Judging from the current situation, this trend cannot be fundamentally changed in the short term. This is mainly due to the continuous expansion of battery capacity and the continuous increase in demand for upstream materials. The release of upstream raw materials such as lithium and cobalt will take time, and the price of bulk products is currently rising. However, the second half of the year is the peak season for sales of new energy vehicles, and the related company's gross profit margin is expected to rebound.

Electric control industry will usher in a turning point

Electrical and electronic control companies mainly include Dadi Hezhong, Zhonglian Chuangxin, Micro-motor, Depuda, Dewei Xineng, Hengjiu Li, Ruiyang Technology and Yikong Electronics. In the first half of this year, the overall operating situation owed good. Data show that these eight companies achieved operating income of 760 million yuan in the first half of the year, a year-on-year drop of 15%; net profit of -594 million yuan; and net profit of 120 million yuan in the same period last year, from profit to loss. Specifically, six of the eight companies saw a drop in net profit, and two companies grew.

In the first half of the year, Dadi achieved a net profit of -19.31 million yuan, compared with 55.94 million yuan in the same period of last year. The company mainly provides drive motor system products and services for new energy vehicles. Customers include Dongfeng Motor (6.580, 0.00, 0.00%), Jinlong Bus, Jiangling Motors (20.800, 0.00, 0.00%) and Haima Motors (5.530, 0.00, 0.00%). )Wait. The company said that due to factors such as the adjustment of new energy vehicle industry subsidies policy and the reaffirmation of new energy vehicle promotion catalog, the production and sales volume of new energy vehicles in the first half of the year was lower than expected, which affected the company’s sales and profits.

In the first half of the year, the operating revenue of Micro Motors decreased by 28.6% year-on-year, and net profit decreased by 93.67% year-on-year. The main reason is that raw material prices have increased by a large margin, and the new energy auto industry has gradually adjusted its overheating situation in the past two years. It is difficult to increase the sales price of products simultaneously.

In the first half of this year, the related policies for new energy vehicles have been adjusted, which has caused a certain impact on the sales volume and has adversely affected the electrical control of the associated electrical machinery. According to industry insiders, the impact of relevant policies is temporary and the industry is basically clear. The second half of the year is the peak sales season of new energy vehicles. Production and sales volume is expected to grow, and the industry chain will usher in development opportunities. Such as Depuda said that with the completion of related work, the advent of the industry season, the second half will enter the production and sales release period, operating income will appear a substantial increase.

Charging pile company differentiation

Seven companies such as Guochong Charging, Sunrise Electric, and Hengrui Electric engaged in the charging pile business. In the first half of this year, the total operating revenue reached 966 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 25%; and the net profit was 13.9 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 73%.

Specifically, 4 net profits of the 7 companies decreased year-on-year. Among them, Anhewei's operating income rose by 15.71% year-on-year in the first half of the year, while net profit decreased by 603.6% year-on-year. The company stated that since the gross margin of major engineering orders implemented during the first half of the year was lower than that of the same period of last year, the investment and construction production base and the investment operation subsidiary of the newly-installed new energy vehicle charging station are still in the investment period, and no revenue has yet been generated. Depreciation of fixed assets, banks The loan interest, marketing expenses, and management fees increased significantly year-on-year, and losses occurred in the first half of the year. In the first half of the year, Hexin Ruitong achieved a net profit of -1.53 ​​million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 112.41%. The company stated that due to the change in the delivery method of the contract orders obtained from the State Grid Corporation of China, the number of deliveries in the first half of the year was less than the historical period, and it was not confirmed as income during the reporting period, resulting in a decrease in operating income; The management expenses incurred in production and operations have a certain degree of monthly equilibrium, resulting in a loss in net profit during the reporting period.

In the first half of the year, the revenue of Guochong Charge decreased by 1.27% year-on-year, which was mainly due to the impact of policies. In the first half of the year, the overall growth of the new energy electric vehicle industry was slower than that of the same period of last year, while net profit increased by 166% year-on-year. The company stated that since the second half of 2016, the company has adjusted its business, focusing on the construction and operation of charging stations, and the operating service revenue needs to accumulate for a certain period of time. It is expected that profitability will show up in the second half of 2017.

Overall, the performance of charging pile companies is more obvious. Since the related company has multiple businesses, the performance changes are more dependent on the combined effects of various business combinations. From the mid to long-term perspective, the development of new energy vehicles requires the construction of a large number of charging piles. The potential market space is large, and competitive enterprises still face greater opportunities for development.

This entry was posted in on