The company released its 2023 annual report and 2024 quarterly report. In 2023, the company achieved revenue of 21.14 billion yuan, -13.39% year-on-year, and realized net profit of 367 million yuan, or -33.75% year-on-year. With 2024Q1, the company achieved revenue of 685 million yuan, +35.43% year-on-year, and realized net profit of 105 million yuan, or +83.25% year-on-year.
R&D investment continues to increase, accumulating potential for growth. The company attaches importance to building technological competitiveness, and emphasizes independent innovation and investment in R&D. In 2023, R&D expenses were 189.128 million yuan, accounting for 8.95% of revenue. This is a 0.75% year-on-year increase. By the end of 2023, the company had 406 patents, including 318 invention patents. On the basis of biomantry technology accumulated in the fields of biological long-chain diacid, bio-based pentanediamine and bio-based polyamide functional materials, the company has made positive progress in R&D projects such as green binary acid, bio-based piperidine, bio-based long-chain polyamide, high-temperature polyamide, continuous fiber-reinforced bio-based polyamide, and agricultural waste utilization.
Promote production capacity construction and optimize production processes. The company takes capacity layout and construction as an important part of its work.
Currently, the company currently has a series of bio-based long-chain binary acids (DC10-DC18) with a production capacity of 115,000 tons/year, pentanediamine production capacity of 50,000 tons/year, Usu materials with a production capacity of 100,000 tons/year of bio-based polyamide, and Wusu technology with a production capacity of 20,000 tons/year of bio-based long-chain polyamide. In 2024, the company will steadily advance the construction of a project with an annual output of 900,000 tons of bio-based polyamide and 500,000 tons of pentanediamine in line with the expansion of the downstream market. At the same time, with the expansion of business and the continuous growth of future market demand, the company will continuously optimize production processes, improve production efficiency, reduce production costs, and improve product performance, thereby improving the company's overall production capacity level and consolidating and enhancing the market competitiveness and profitability of products.
Profit forecasts and investment recommendations. We expect the company's 2024-2026EPS to be 0.73, 0.81, and 0.98 yuan, respectively, and 19.84 yuan for BPS in 2024. Referring to comparable company valuations, we gave it 2.90-3.00 times PB in 2024, corresponding to a reasonable value range of 57.54-59.52 yuan (corresponding 2024 PE valuation is 78.82-81.53 times), maintaining a “superior to market” rating.
Risk warning. Product prices fluctuated greatly; project commissioning progress did not meet expectations, etc.