On August 20th, the titanium dioxide sector broke out, leading the two cities, with Guangdong Huiyun Titanium Industry up more than 15%, GPRO Titanium Industry limit up, Fujian Kuncai Material Technology rose 7.88%, Shandong Lubei Chemical, CNNC Hua Yuan Titanium Dioxide, and Anhui Annada Titanium Industry followed suit.

It is worth noting that the titanium dioxide market gradually recovered in the first half of this year. According to the semi-annual report released by the leading company, in the first half of the year, CNNC Hua Yuan Titanium Dioxide achieved revenue of 3.151 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 42.29%; Shandong Lubei Chemical achieved revenue of 2.815 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 31.28%. Regarding the reason for the growth in performance, the company stated that it was mainly due to the rise in sales volume and price of titanium dioxide during the reporting period.

Leading enterprises have seen a significant increase in revenue.

Despite the trend of rising and falling titanium dioxide prices in China this year, the overall level of the industry has been greatly improved.

According to the 2024 interim report disclosed by CNNC Hua Yuan Titanium Dioxide on August 12th, the company achieved revenue of 3.151 billion yuan in the first half of the year, a year-on-year increase of 42.29%; the net profit attributable to the parent company was 0.304 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 42.09%. The company stated that the main reason for the revenue growth was the rise in sales volume and price of titanium dioxide during the reporting period.

Specifically, in the first half of 2024, the titanium dioxide market presented a situation of weak supply and demand with rebounding prices, affected by factors such as the global macroeconomic downturn and slow recovery of end demand, and the overall profitability level of the industry has been significantly improved. Relevant data statistics show that the domestic titanium dioxide production in the reporting period was about 2.4 million tons, a year-on-year increase of about 20%.

In the future, with the gradual highlighting of the cost performance advantages of Chinese titanium dioxide products and the continuous growth of Chinese titanium dioxide exports, it is expected that the annual export volume will reach 40% of domestic production, further digesting the industry's supply-demand pressure.

CNNC Hua Yuan Titanium Dioxide predicts that the titanium dioxide industry will continue to operate weakly and steadily in the second half of 2024. Its internationally leading market position and operating advantages as a leading enterprise will help to accelerate the elimination of old and new production capacity in the domestic titanium dioxide industry and further repair the industry's profitability level.

Another leading enterprise, Shandong Lubei Chemical, showed strong growth momentum in the first half of the year.

According to the announcement, the company achieved revenue of 2.815 billion yuan in the reporting period, a year-on-year increase of 31.28%; the net profit attributable to the parent company and the net profit after deducting non-recurring gains and losses both achieved a significant increase of 1063.27% and 1081.8%, respectively.

According to an employee, the company's titanium dioxide sales volume in the first half of this year reached 0.1274 million tons, an increase of about 30% compared to 0.0978 million tons last year; in terms of price, the average selling price per ton was 140,000 yuan/ton in the first half of this year, an increase of more than 600 yuan/ton compared to the same period last year.

Shandong Lubei Chemical stated that the main reason for the growth in performance was due to the year-on-year increase in sales volume of titanium dioxide and methylene chloride products. In addition, the company also actively adopted a series of measures to reduce costs and increase efficiency, starting from various aspects such as production and operation, quality improvement, energy conservation, and consumption reduction, which ensured new breakthroughs in production and operation.

Looking ahead, the company will continue to adhere to the strategy of reducing costs and increasing efficiency, continuously optimize its product structure to adapt to changes and demands in the market. At the same time, the company will actively explore new market opportunities to further enhance its market position and profitability.

There are plans for a lot of new production capacity in the future.

As we all know, China's titanium dioxide industry has been highly dependent on the export market.

Data shows that China's total titanium dioxide exports increased from 1 million tons in 2019 to 1.64 million tons in 2023, with an average annual growth rate of 13%. Among them, Asia accounted for about 55% of the total, while Europe and South America accounted for about 20% and 10%, respectively.

With the rising status of China's titanium dioxide industry in the global market, many overseas regions have begun to adopt anti-dumping measures to increase trade barriers.

On July 11th this year, the European Commission issued a notice on the anti-dumping preliminary ruling on titanium dioxide (Titanium Dioxide) originating in China. It plans to impose temporary anti-dumping duties of 39.7% and 14.4% on LB Group Co., Ltd. and CNNC Hua Yuan Titanium Dioxide, respectively, and temporary anti-dumping duties of 35%-39.7% on other companies.
On March 28, 2024, the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry announced that, in response to applications submitted by three major producers of titanium dioxide in India, an anti-dumping investigation was launched against titanium dioxide originating or imported from China.

Looking ahead to the future, it is expected that there will be a situation of oversupply in the short term under the influence of the anti-dumping measures, but in the long term, we are expected to maintain competitiveness in the international market with our technical and cost advantages.

In addition, titanium dioxide has seen consecutive price increases in the first quarter. On the one hand, domestic enterprises have concentrated on shutdown and maintenance, resulting in a slightly tight supply; on the other hand, the expectation of future demand growth in stages has also increased the willingness of downstream factories to stock up actively.