Relying on the robust lithium market, Tianhua Superclean (300390.SZ) hit a new high in the first quarter of 2022.
It is reported that Tianhua Ultraclean was initially mainly engaged in anti-static ultra-clean technology plate and medical device plate, and in 2018, the company (current shareholding ratio of 75%) set up Tianyi Lithium with Ningde Times and other ****, formally entering the lithium track. Since then, Tianhua Chaoyi has successively improved its lithium salt capacity and the layout of the upstream resource end, becoming a fast-growing new giant in the lithium industry.
2021 In 2021, Tianyi Lithium ushered in a performance explosion, completely changing Tianhua Superclean's revenue, profit pattern, 2021 lithium materials business accounted for 68% of the company's revenue ratio, accounting for as much as 78% of the company's gross profit ratio.
The lithium salt business has become a major performance pillar, and its valuation has been further enhanced, 2021 the stock annual cumulative gain of 229.3%, the maximum increase of more than 5.5 times during the year, proper bull stock.
On April 28, Tianhua Superclean disclosed its 2022 quarterly results, like most lithium salt companies, the company's profits continued last year's growth trend.
During the reporting period, the company realized revenue of 3.388 billion yuan, an increase of 407.15% year-on-year; net profit of 1.518 billion yuan, an increase of 939.05% year-on-year, equivalent to last year's full-year net profit of 1.67 times, hitting a single-quarter The best level in history.
Boosted by this, on April 29, Tianhua Super Clean closed at 61.18 yuan / share, the share price rose 3.73%, the latest total market value of 35.98 billion yuan.
01 "Lithium price" is high, thickening the company's performance
Large net profit growth, the logic behind it is self-evident. 2021, by the terminal new energy automobile demand continues to climb pulling The demand for lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide and other upstream raw materials for lithium batteries has risen sharply, and the imbalance between supply and demand has caused domestic lithium salt prices to enter a rising channel after 2021.
Toocle data show that the domestic battery-grade lithium carbonate by the beginning of 2021 53,000 yuan / ton soared to 277,000 yuan / ton at the end of the year, an increase of more than four times during the year. Into 2022, its price continued to run high, to early March has exceeded 500,000 yuan / ton, a quarter rise of more than 85%.
As can be seen from the table above, lithium carbonate prices remain high, lithium salt company performance generally substantial growth. For example, Sheng new lithium can quarterly net profit growth of more than 9 times, Ya Hua Group up to 12 times. Rongjie shares even up to 140 times, catching up with last year's annual net profit of nearly 4 times.
In fact, the first quarter is not the traditional production season, so the company's net profit is mainly driven by product prices.
But from the market situation in April, lithium salt prices have fallen significantly. However, the current price of lithium carbonate is still maintained at a high level of 460,000 yuan / ton.
According to the prediction of a number of organizations, the short-term lithium carbonate "seasonal" fall is a normal fluctuation, the second quarter of the industry's profitability trend is still inseparable from the lithium price.
The growth logic of lithium carbonate price, put on the lithium hydroxide is also applicable. At the same time, due to the recent weakening of the upstream lithium carbonate market, the market wait-and-see mood is getting stronger, the downstream procurement mentality is cautiously weak. Business community expects the domestic industrial lithium hydroxide market may be under pressure in the short term.
02 "Expansion + channel", Tianhua Super Clean accelerated into the attack
Lithium materials include lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide, and the difference between the two lies mainly in their use.
Generally speaking, the products produced with lithium hydroxide usually have better performance, so high-nickel ternary must use lithium hydroxide, such as NCA and NCM811 must use battery-grade lithium hydroxide. The relatively low cost of lithium carbonate is mainly used in the production of lithium iron phosphate and ternary materials in the low nickel cathode materials.
It is worth mentioning that with the advantage of lower cost and higher safety, lithium iron phosphate has a tendency to explode. 2022 quarter, ternary battery installed volume 21.4GWh, accounting for 41.6% of the total installed volume, up 54.5% year-on-year; lithium iron phosphate battery installed volume 29.8GWh, accounting for 58.2% of the total installed volume, up 217.9% year-on-year, the lithium iron phosphate market share more than the ternary batteries, the growth rate is also shrugged off the ternary a big block.
Previously, the main product of the lithium salt business is lithium hydroxide, and did not mention the capacity of lithium carbonate, but with the continued expansion of the market share of lithium iron phosphate, in order to meet the market demand, Tianhua Super Purple began to layout lithium carbonate project.
On January 28, 2022, Tianhua Superclean set up a joint venture with Ningde Times (main lithium carbonate), intending to invest in the construction of 100,000 tons of lithium carbonate production capacity project, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2022 with 50,000 tons of lithium carbonate capacity, and the remaining 50,000 tons of capacity by the end of 2023.
Lithium hydroxide capacity, as of the end of 2021, the existing capacity of Tianhua Super Purification totaled 45,000 tons of capacity, the second largest domestic enterprise rankings, second only to the lithium giant Ganfeng Lithium (81,000 tons).
In 2021, Tianyi Lithium and Jiang'an County Government, Ganmei Industrial Park Management Committee, respectively, invested in the construction of 110,000 tons of battery-grade lithium hydroxide production capacity, which is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2024, and the total capacity will reach 160,000 tons per year when all the projects come into production.
In order to ensure a stable supply of raw materials, increase the layout of lithium resources has become a lithium salt enterprises **** knowledge.
Tianhua signed long-term agreements with Pilbara, AMG, AVZ and other upstream lithium concentrate producers. The company's combined lithium concentrate package sales volume is 980,000-1,100,000 tons, basically covering the planned 160,000 tons of lithium hydroxide production capacity.
In addition, in order to ensure downstream sales, Tianhua Chaoying is y bundled with Ningde Times. As early as 2019, the two sides signed a cooperation agreement stipulating that in the next five years, Ningde Times will prioritize the procurement of lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide products from Tianyi Lithium.
In 2021, Tianyi Chaoyi actually sold 450 million yuan of battery-grade lithium hydroxide to Ningde Era, and it is expected that the total amount of battery-grade lithium hydroxide sales to Ningde Era and related parties in 2022 will not exceed 2.8 billion yuan.
Conclusion
As a new generation of lithium giants, Tianhua Chaoying fully enjoys the development opportunities under the industry's high boom, realizing product volume and price, and accelerating performance growth.
From the perspective of the entire industry, the supply side of lithium resources is currently in a relatively tight state, restricting the release of domestic lithium salt production capacity. The industry's expansion race is clearly accelerating, and lithium salt companies with domestic mineral resources will have a greater competitive advantage.
This article originated from Caihua.com