Event: the company released its semi-annual report of 2023, and its operating income reached 697 million yuan in the first half of 2023, down 15.00% from the same period last year. The net profit attributed to the shareholders of the parent company was 142 million yuan, down 31.82% from the same period last year, and the net profit after deduction was 126 million yuan, down 36.35% from the same period last year, and the basic earnings per share was 0.48 yuan.
Main points of investment:
The company's first-half results are under short-term pressure. The company is a leading enterprise of maleic anhydride derivatives, mainly engaged in the research and development, production and sales of fine chemicals such as maleic anhydride derivatives, functional material intermediates and so on. The company's products maleic anhydride derivatives are widely used in electronic components packaging materials, electrical equipment insulation materials, wind power, composite materials, coatings and many other fields. In the first half of 2023, the company achieved operating income of 697 million yuan, down 15.00% from the same period last year, mainly due to the decrease in operating income of anhydride.
In terms of profitability, the company's comprehensive gross profit margin in the first half of the year was 28.07%, a decrease of 7.45pct compared with the same period last year. The company's comprehensive net interest rate was 20.41%, a decrease of 5.04pct compared with the same period last year. The company's sales / management / finance / R & D expense rates are 0.46%, 8.10%, 1.70%, 5.36%, respectively, compared with the same period last year, + 0.05max / 0.84 / + 0.17/+0.37pct respectively. The rate of sales, management and financial expenses totaled 6.86%, an increase of 1.06pct over the same period last year. The company's overall expense rate was controlled steadily, and under the influence of the decline in the company's gross profit margin, the net profit returned to the mother in the first half of the year was 142 million yuan, down 31.82% from the same period last year. The company's overall performance in the first half of the year is under obvious pressure.
The quantity of maleic anhydride derivatives increased and the price decreased, and the price difference narrowed and the performance declined. With the steady growth of the market of maleic anhydride derivatives in electrical insulation, wind power and other application fields, the company's sales volume of maleic anhydride in the first half of the year was 41400 tons, an increase of 23.40% over the same period last year, with an operating income of 499 million yuan, down 21.44% from the same period last year, mainly due to the decline in sales prices. According to Zhuochuang Information, the prices of maleic anhydride and butadiene, the main raw materials of anhydride derivatives, were 6950.88 yuan / ton and 8339.62 yuan / ton respectively in the first half of the year, down 34.39% and 11.49% respectively from the same period last year.
The decline in the price of upstream raw materials was transmitted downstream, resulting in a sharp drop in the company's anhydride sales price in the first half of the year, with an average sales price of 12054.90 yuan / ton, down 36.33% from the same period last year. At the same time, due to the reduction of the difference between the sales price and the raw material price, the maleic anhydride gross profit margin decreased by 10.06pct to 27.87% compared with the same period last year. In the short term, according to Zhuangchuang, the price of maleic anhydride of raw materials has risen from 5677 yuan / ton at the end of June to 8253 yuan / ton, and the company's sales price of maleic anhydride may break away from the market low driven by the rise in raw material prices, thus driving revenue growth. In the long run, the demand of maleic anhydride derivatives in the field of electrical insulation and carbon fiber composites is highly deterministic, while the steady progress of Fujian Gulei 50,000 tons / year maleic anhydride derivative project has laid the capacity foundation for business growth.
The gross profit margin of functional intermediates has increased. The functional intermediate materials of the company are mainly related materials for OLED, which are greatly influenced by the consumer electronics market. In the first half of the year, the operating income of functional material intermediates was 112 million yuan, down 2.32% from the same period last year; the gross profit margin was 44.21%, an increase of 6.97pct over the same period last year. In the future, the company will continuously improve the synthesis process of OLED-related functional materials intermediates in order to reduce production costs and enhance its market position and product competitiveness in the field of OLED functional materials. At present, in view of the market environment and other factors, the company suspended the implementation of the "functional material intermediate project" construction. The follow-up company will decide whether to continue to implement the project according to the market situation and its own actual situation.
Profit forecast and investment suggestion: the company is the leader of maleic anhydride derivatives in China. benefiting from the accelerated construction of downstream wind power installation and UHV power grid, the business demand of maleic anhydride derivatives continues to grow. considering the narrowing of the profit space of maleic anhydride derivatives and the lower-than-expected demand for functional intermediates, we adjust the company's operating income forecast for 2023-2025 to 14,29,000,000 yuan. The net profit is 3.59 hundred million yuan (the original value is 4.48 EPS 6.04 / 648 million yuan), and the corresponding PE is 1.01 1.21 plus 1.40 yuan, and the corresponding PE is 12.38 times of 17.25 shock. Taking into account that the company's share price has been fully reflected, as well as the company's industry status, we maintain the "buy" rating.
Risk tips: raw material prices fluctuate sharply, project construction is lower than expected, industry competition intensifies, and downstream demand is lower than expected.