锂电回收业务稳步推进，规模和技术优势领先。公司自主开发的回收型二代磷酸铁锂正极材料量产成功，产品性能与行业原生二代磷酸铁锂材料水平一致，成为行业内为数不多具备万吨级的一体化磷酸铁锂回收的企业。在电池循环领域，年处理4 万吨退役锂电池拆解分类利用生产项目达产，实现了“电池梯级利用-电池拆解-电池回收-原料再造-材料再造”的新能源材料全生命周期循环体系，提升公司在退役锂电池综合回收利用领域的核心竞争力。occurrences
On April 26, 2024, the company released its 2023 annual report and 2024 quarterly report. The company achieved operating income of 2,699 billion yuan in 2023, a year-on-year decrease of 18.26%; realized net profit of 431 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 468.55%. The first quarter of 2024 achieved operating income of 512 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 21.78%; realized net profit of 3.798 million yuan, an increase of 102.02% over the previous year. Operating analysis
The main business began to recover profits, and the lithium battery materials sector was under pressure, leading to a decline in performance. The company lost 431 million yuan in 2023, with a net cash flow difference of 558 million yuan compared to current year's operating activities. It was mainly affected by profit deductions that did not involve cash outflow and inventory declines of $205 million, depreciation of fixed assets of $127 million, and inventory reduction of $359 million. Looking at the company's business performance by sector, PCB chemicals achieved revenue of 1.37 billion yuan in 2023, down 5.4% year on year, gross margin was 13.04%, up 1.97 pct year on year; chemical reagents achieved revenue of 4.4 billion yuan, up 12.6% year on year, gross margin was 24.43%, down 5.79 pct year on year; lithium battery materials sector achieved revenue of 580 million yuan, down 54.9% year on year, and gross margin was -21.54%, down 38.19 pcts year on year. The company's lithium battery materials business is mainly affected by a sharp drop in the lithium carbonate market price in a short period of time. The inversion of product raw material costs has caused operating losses. The profitability of this sector is expected to recover upward in the future as lithium carbonate prices stabilize.
The lithium battery recycling business is progressing steadily, leading in scale and technical advantages. The recyclable second-generation lithium iron phosphate cathode material independently developed by the company was successfully mass-produced. The product performance is consistent with the industry's native second-generation lithium iron phosphate material, making it one of the few enterprises in the industry with 10,000 tons of integrated lithium iron phosphate recycling. In the field of battery recycling, the annual disposal of 40,000 tons of decommissioned lithium batteries is disassembled, classified and used to achieve production. The new energy material life cycle system of “battery cascade utilization - battery recycling - battery recycling - material recycling” has been realized, enhancing the company's core competitiveness in the field of comprehensive recycling of decommissioned lithium batteries.
Profit Forecasts, Valuations, and Ratings
As a leading PCB chemical company, the company has extended the layout of lithium battery materials and lithium battery recycling sectors. Considering that the electronic chemicals sector is still at the bottom of the recovery period, the superimposed lithium battery materials sector is affected by falling lithium carbonate prices, and profits continue to be pressured. We expect the company's net profit to be RMB 208 million, RMB 52 million, and RMB 125 million respectively (of which 2024-2025 net profit will be reduced by 97% and 86%, respectively), and the corresponding PE valuation will be 532.03/80.26/33.46 times, respectively, maintaining the “increase” rating.
Risk warning
The release of new production capacity fell short of expectations; the price of raw materials fluctuated greatly; the price of lithium battery materials fluctuated greatly; and competition in the lithium battery recycling industry intensified.
