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On the lithium iron phosphate track, some people are busy joining, while others are rushing to withdraw.
Following the meeting of Hubei Wanrun New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Hubei Wanrun") on June 13, Hunan Yuneng New Energy Battery Materials Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Hunan Yuneng") also successfully passed the meeting on June 15.
Beike Finance reporter compared the prospectus of Hunan Yuneng and Hubei Wanrun. It was found that these two leading lithium iron phosphate leaders have experienced risks such as decline in profits or losses, fluctuations in gross profit margins, negative cash flow , and increased accounts receivable in the past three years. In addition, CATL and BYD both hold the "lifeline" of these two companies, not only shareholders of Hunan Yuneng, but also major customers of Hubei Wanrun.
"Many companies went public at this time, and they were attracted by the opportunity of lithium iron phosphate battery orders and volume and broad market prospects. They hoped to attract investors and obtain financing more easily." Zhang Xiang, a special expert at Zhongbolian Think Tank, told the reporter of Beike Finance that in the lithium battery industry, ternary lithium batteries once had high advantages, but after BYD used lithium iron phosphate to invent the blade battery , the security was improved, the energy density was increased, and the cost was reduced, which made lithium iron phosphate a popular item and the lithium battery with the largest installed capacity.
But at the same time, Qianyi "Cobalt Mao" Huayou Cobalt Industry announced on June 14 that in order to further concentrate advantageous resources and focus on the lithium battery ternary materials industry chain, the company plans to terminate its layout in the field of lithium iron phosphate materials. Some industry insiders believe that Huayou Cobalt's move is related to the arrival of a crisis of lower cost, more layout, and overcapacity.
, the two leading companies, have passed the hierarchy, A shares, : Gross profit margins are fluctuating
, In terms of performance, Hunan Yuneng and Hubei Wanrun, both have experienced declines in profits and losses in the past three years.
Among them, Hunan Yuneng's net profit attributable to shareholders in 2019 was 57.3736 million yuan, down to 46.235 million yuan in 2020, and only rebounded to 1.175 billion yuan in 2021.
Hubei Wanrun suffered losses even more. In 2019 and 2020, the company's net losses attributable to shareholders were RMB 73.3857 million and RMB 44.6116 million. The company said it was affected by asset impairment, industry policy adjustments and the new crown epidemic. In 2021, the company benefited from the downstream new energy vehicle terminal demand, and its net profit attributable to shareholders rebounded to 353 million yuan.
. In terms of gross profit margin, the gross profit margins of both companies declined in 2020 and rose again in 2021.
Hunan Yuneng prospectus shows that the company's comprehensive gross profit margin from 2019 to 2021 was 23.64%, 15.29% and 26.35% respectively. Hubei Wanrun's comprehensive gross profit margin during the reporting period was 20.73%, 17.25% and 31.19% respectively.
Not only that, the reporter also found in his prospectus that Hunan Yuneng and Hubei Wanrun both face the risk of excessive negative and large fluctuations in the net cash flow of operating activities in the past three years.
Among them, Hunan Yuneng's net cash flow for operating activities in 2019, 2020 and 2021 was negative, with a net amount of -146 million yuan, -170 million yuan and -557 million yuan respectively. The situation in Hubei Wanrun is slightly better, with cash flow positive for at least one year. In 2019, 2020 and 2021, the net cash flow generated by Hubei Wanrun's operating activities was RMB 176 million, RMB -93.1401 million and RMB -366 million, respectively.
It is worth mentioning that CATL and BYD are both major customers of these two leading companies, and they hold the "lifeline" of these two companies.
Hunan Yuneng prospectus shows that the downstream industry of the company's products, the lithium-ion battery, the industry, the market concentration of is relatively high. From 2019 to 2021, the sales revenue of the company's top five customers accounted for more than 95% of the company's overall sales revenue, of which the total sales revenue of CATL and BYD accounted for 93.56%, 91.10% and 95.42% respectively. The same is true for
Hubei Wanrun. From 2019 to 2021, the sales amount of the company's top five customers accounted for 88.87%, 84.56% and 92.21% of the current operating income, respectively, of which the sales amount of CATL and BYD accounted for 70.09%, 68.12% and 80.63% of the current operating income.
This means that if CATL and BYD reduce the purchase volume of the company, or if the company fails to meet downstream demand due to the production capacity of , resulting in the loss of major customers, it will have an adverse impact on the company's continued growth and profits.
Not only that, CATL and BYD are also shareholders of Hunan Yuneng.
In December 2020, Hunan Yuneng increased its capital and expanded its shares and introduced its major customers CATL and BYD as strategic investors to invest, further deepening its cooperative relationship. CATL holds more than 10% of the company's shares and more than 5% of the company's stake, forming an affiliate of the company.
Lithium battery materials dispute Huayou Cobalt Industry abandoned the purchase of
The two companies that made the A-share market this time played a pivotal role in the lithium iron phosphate market. Data from
Gaogong lithium battery shows that in 2021, Hunan Yuneng accounted for 25% of the market share of lithium iron phosphate in my country, ranking first in the country, with well-known listed companies Defang Nano and Longpan Technology ranked second and third respectively, while another company that sprinted for IPO, Hubei Wanrun, accounted for 8.45%, ranking fourth in the country. This also means that the top four leading companies in my country's lithium iron phosphate are expected to gather in A-shares.
, but it should be noted that the lithium battery positive electrode material , which currently forms large-scale commercial applications, mainly includes ternary materials, lithium iron phosphate, lithium cobalt oxide and lithium manganate . Different positive electrode materials have their own advantages and disadvantages in terms of performance, security, cost, etc., and their application fields are different.
Among them, ternary materials are mainly used in power lithium batteries, and lithium iron phosphate is widely used in power lithium batteries and energy storage fields. The dispute over the advantages and disadvantages between ternary materials and lithium iron phosphate in the market has never stopped.
At the earnings call in October 2021, Tesla announced that the global standard battery life version Model 3 and Model Y models will be replaced with lithium iron phosphate batteries. Tesla founder Elon Musk also said that he prefers lithium iron phosphate batteries because this battery can be charged to 100%, while ternary lithium batteries are only recommended to charge to 90%. This has sent a signal to the outside world that "Tesla embraces lithium iron phosphate batteries and ternary lithium batteries to be marginalized."
Wugang Securities research report shows that previously, since lithium iron phosphate focused on "low cost and high economy", lithium hydroxide has been basically replaced by lithium carbonate in the iron lithium market since 2017 due to its high price. This is exactly in line with the future development trend of "positioning and demand stratification" of new energy vehicles in the world.
However, some companies have abandoned the option of lithium iron phosphate.
On June 14 this year, Huayou Cobalt Industry, a 100 billion "Cobalt Mao" announced that in order to further concentrate advantageous resources and focus on the lithium battery ternary materials industry chain, the company plans to terminate its layout in the field of lithium iron phosphate materials. After consultation with the controlling shareholder Huayou Holdings, it decided to terminate the acquisition of 100% equity of Shengfan Technology through its holding subsidiary Bamo Technology.
Some industry insiders believe that Huayou Cobalt's move is related to the arrival of a crisis of lower cost, more layout, and overcapacity.
, Hunan Yuneng also stated in its prospectus that if new materials and new technologies with more advantages in energy storage efficiency, safety performance, production costs, etc. appear in the industry, and the company fails to develop and launch new products in a timely and efficient manner, it will have an adverse impact on the company's competitive advantages and profitability.
But in Zhang Xiang's view, for a listed company that wants to "concentrate resources to accomplish major tasks", it is not necessarily a good choice to deploy lithium iron phosphate and ternary lithium at the same time. Huayou Cobalt Industry has already made many layouts in various resources such as nickel and cobalt. If the funds are dispersed into different lithium battery materials, it may not be possible to obtain the best returns. Huayou Cobalt Industry chose the ternary lithium battery track, which is a reasonable choice to gain a higher market share on this track.
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