① The decline in lithium salt prices in 2023 led to a decline in the price of ternary materials. The revenue and net profit of Dangsheng Technology, a leading company in ternary cathode materials, declined, and Q4 net profit fell almost below the same period last year. ② Despite sharp fluctuations in the price of cathode materials, Dangsheng Technology's enthusiasm for building production capacity has not diminished, mainly lithium iron phosphate materials that dominate the market.
Financial Services Association, March 29 (Reporters Liu Yue and Zeng Chuchu) The decline in lithium salt prices in 2023 led to a decline in the price of ternary materials. The revenue and net profit of Dangsheng Technology (300073.SZ), a leading company in ternary cathode materials, fell, and Q4 net profit fell almost below the same period last year.
Dangsheng Technology disclosed its annual report this evening. In 2023, it achieved operating revenue of 15.127 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 28.86%; net profit to mother was 1,924 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 14.8%.
Looking at the net profit for the single quarter, Dangsheng Technology's Q4 net profit was 433 million yuan, down 44.56% year on year and 23.63% month on month.
The company said in its annual report that in 2023, the lithium battery industry will enter a period of decline in growth due to the global economic downturn and the growth rate of terminal demand slowing down. The raw materials required for the company's production mainly involve various precursors, cobalt tetroxide, and resources such as nickel salt, cobalt salt, lithium salt, phosphate, etc., and the raw material costs account for a relatively high proportion of operating costs. Due to the macroeconomic environment, changes in industry supply and demand patterns, etc., raw material prices have fluctuated markedly, and it is expected that future prices will still fluctuate.
The overall lithium salt market showed a downward trend in 2023, with the price of ternary materials mainly falling. The price of ternary material monocrystalline 5 series dropped from about 340,000 yuan/ton at the beginning of the year to 130,000 yuan/ton at the end of the year. Dongwu Securities Estimation Company's profit per ton of the 23Q4 three-yuan cathode was nearly 30,000 yuan, and the net profit per ton was about 25,000 yuan, a decrease of about 20% over the previous month, mainly due to falling prices of raw materials, lithium and nickel, and declining capacity utilization.
(Image source: Gaogong Lithium Battery)
According to the annual report, Dangsheng Technology achieved a multi-material production capacity of 77,000 tons and a lithium cobalate production capacity of 6,000 tons. The Changzhou Dangsheng Phase II high-nickel multi-material production capacity construction project was completed and put into operation during the reporting period. Despite sharp fluctuations in the price of cathode materials, Dangsheng Technology's enthusiasm for building production capacity has not diminished, mainly lithium iron phosphate materials that dominate the market.
According to Minsheng Securities data, the installed capacity of lithium iron phosphate increased further in 2023, to 261,000 MWH, accounting for 67.32% of the total load capacity.
(Image source: Minsheng Securities)
Specifically, in terms of lithium phosphate (manganese) iron phosphate business, in 2023, the company invested in the construction of 300,000 tons/year lithium phosphate (manganese) iron iron production capacity in Panzhihua, Sichuan. The first phase of the project plans to build a 120,000 ton lithium phosphate (manganese) lithium iron phosphate (manganese) iron production line and supporting facilities. The first phase of the 40,000 ton production capacity project will enter the commissioning stage.
Overseas, the company's European new materials industry base project has a master plan of 500,000 tons, including 200,000 tons of diverse materials and 300,000 tons of lithium iron phosphate (manganese), which will be built in stages. The first phase of the project will build a high-nickel multi-material production line with an annual output of 60,000 tons. The production line is designed according to the requirements of ultra-high nickel and high nickel polycrystals and monocrystals, and also has the capacity to produce nickel products in use.
In addition, Dangsheng Technology has seized the next-generation battery materials market, and sales of the company's ultra-high nickel products increased several times over the year, with cumulative shipments of hundreds of tons during the year, increasing the supply share of solid-state battery customers such as Huineng, Qingtao, Weilan New Energy, and Ganfeng Lithium, and supporting solid-state models of global first-tier car companies such as SAIC Motor Group and Vietnam's VinFast.
In terms of sodium cathode materials, the company laid out sodium electric cathode materials with different systems, such as layered oxides and polyanions, and delivered hundreds of tons to many customers at home and abroad during the reporting period. High-capacity, high-density lithium-rich manganese-based materials have been introduced, developed and released by high-end customers, and 100 kg shipments have been achieved.