According to the Securities Times APP, since October, many papermaking companies have carried out one or more rounds of price increases. Recently, several companies have announced price adjustment plans for multiple bases under their management. Paper companies in various regions have followed suit, triggering a new round of price hikes in the entire paper industry. On November 6, Shanying International once again issued a price increase letter for pulp: starting from November 8, the prices of redwood, T paper, and cardboard paper at the company's bases in Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, etc., have been raised by 30 yuan per ton. At the same time, ND Paper and Lee & Man Paper have also recently announced price increase plans for multiple bases under their management. Recently, many brokerages have stated that the further downside of pulp may be limited, coupled with downstream demand gradually entering the traditional peak season, paper companies are expected to recover profits in the fourth quarter.

In November, 'price increase + shutdown for maintenance' will become the theme of the papermaking industry. ND Paper previously stated that due to market factors, there has been a significant deviation between the price and value of white cardboard paper since the beginning of this year, with the company's white cardboard paper products continuously incurring losses. In order to better provide customers with high-quality and stable products and services, and to prevent 'cutthroat' competition, the company has decided to raise the prices of all white cardboard paper products by 200 yuan per ton starting from November 1, while simultaneously shutting down some paper machines.

The main reasons for the widespread price increases in the paper industry are the requirements of costs and the gradual recovery of market demand. The fourth quarter of each year is usually the traditional peak season for the papermaking industry, especially driven by the end-of-year shopping season and holiday demand, the market demand for paper products has surged. Companies are starting to prepare for the peak demand, ensuring production profits through price increase strategies. Although the paper industry still faces many pressures, looking ahead to the fourth quarter, the industry generally believes that it is showing signs of bottoming out and rebounding. It is expected that the effects of New Year's Day, Spring Festival, and other holidays will still be present, downstream operations will improve, and the demand for white cardboard paper will show a slight recovery trend.

According to statistics from the China Industry Research Institute, in the first half of 2024, out of 23 listed companies in the paper industry, 18 companies reported positive growth in net income, while 5 companies reported negative growth. Among them, the top 10 companies with the highest year-on-year growth in net income are Wuzhou Special Paper, Guangdong Guanhao High-Tech, Minfeng Special Paper, Xianhe Co.,Ltd., Shanying International Holdings, Shandong Bohui Paper Industrial, Qifeng New Material, Shandong Chenming Paper, Forest Packaging Group, and Zhejiang Jingxing Paper Joint Stock.

In the first half of 2024, Shandong Sun Paper achieved revenue of 20.524 billion yuan, a year-on-year growth of 6.11%; the net income attributable to shareholders of listed companies was 1.758 billion yuan, a year-on-year growth of 40.49%; Shandong Bohui Paper Industrial achieved revenue of 9.262 billion yuan, a year-on-year growth of 6.99%; the net income attributable to shareholders of listed companies was 0.131 billion yuan, turning from a loss of -0.346 billion yuan in the same period last year to profit.

With the implementation of policies to stabilize growth, expand domestic demand, and promote consumption, the recovery of downstream industry demand in the domestic market will drive the market demand for cultural paper, household paper, packaging paper, and other products to rebound. Sealand Securities stated that many leading paper companies have issued price increase letters for cultural paper, and the price of cultural paper is expected to gradually stabilize and rebound as the peak season approaches, thereby highlighting the competitive advantage of leading companies in a demand-side environment that is relatively stable.

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ND Paper (02689): The company previously released its performance for the year ending June 30, 2024, with revenue of 59.496 billion RMB, an increase of 4.86% year-on-year; the company's equity holders earned 0.751 billion RMB, compared to a loss of 2.383 billion RMB in the same period last year.

Lee & Man Paper (02314): The total revenue for the six months ending June 30, 2024 increased by 2.4% compared to the same period last year, reaching 12.5 billion HKD, while net profit rose by 123.4% to 0.806 billion HKD.

Shandong Chenming Paper (01812): The company achieved revenue of 5.94 billion RMB in the third quarter. Shandong Chenming Paper stated that this year, due to factors such as high raw material prices, lower-than-expected peak season demand, and continuous decline in product prices, some products suffered severe losses, dragging down the company's performance. In response, the company is actively optimizing its product structure, adjusting production capacity layout, and taking other measures to adapt to the dynamic changes in the market environment.