Affected by downstream demand and relevant national policies, leading paper enterprises have accelerated the pace of expansion since this year.
Recently, Shandong Sun Paper Co.Ltd(002078) ( Shandong Sun Paper Co.Ltd(002078) . SZ) announced that the company signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement with Nanning Municipal People’s government and agreed that Shandong Sun Paper Co.Ltd(002078) invest in the construction of “Forest Pulp paper integration and supporting industrial park project with an annual output of 5.25 million tons” in Nanning. Meanwhile, Nanning Shandong Sun Paper Co.Ltd(002078) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Nanning Shandong Sun Paper Co.Ltd(002078) “), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Shandong Sun Paper Co.Ltd(002078) , plans to acquire 100% equity of Guangxi Liujing Chengquan Investment Co., Ltd. held by Guangxi hongruitai pulp Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “hongruitai paper”) for RMB 1.5 billion.
Not only that, the reporter of China business daily noted that at the beginning of 2022, companies including Nine Dragons Paper (2689. HK), Shanying International Holdings Co.Ltd(600567) ( Shanying International Holdings Co.Ltd(600567) . SH), Zhejiang Rongsheng Environmental Protection Paper Joint Stock Co.Ltd(603165) ( Zhejiang Rongsheng Environmental Protection Paper Joint Stock Co.Ltd(603165) . SH) and so on have arranged papermaking projects on a large scale.
Liu Chunchun, a researcher at Sinochem Puhua, told reporters that at present, there are a large number of enterprises in China’s paper industry and their scale is small. In the future, with the merger and acquisition of weak enterprises by the main advantageous enterprises in the industry market, the industry market concentration is expected to be further improved. At the same time, benefiting from the steady rise of downstream demand and the introduction of national policies, industry leading enterprises increase market share by increasing investment scale, maintain market competitiveness and realize economies of scale.
presents a situation of “small factory retreat and large factory advance”
On March 1, Shandong Sun Paper Co.Ltd(002078) announced that Nanning Shandong Sun Paper Co.Ltd(002078) plans to acquire hongruitai paper (established by the bankruptcy and reorganization of Nanning jindaxing paper) for 1.5 billion yuan. The acquired assets mainly include plant equipment (annual production capacity of 150000 tons of pulp and 200000 tons of paper), 2000 mu of industrial land, energy consumption indicators, etc. the original liabilities of the enterprise have been stripped off and will not be taken over. On this basis, Shandong Sun Paper Co.Ltd(002078) signed a cooperation agreement with Nanning municipal government, which approved the expansion of the plant area to 3000 mu and the construction of the port. The company plans to invest 20 billion yuan to build a new 5.25 million ton Forest Pulp paper integration and supporting industrial park project.
The reporter noted that since 2022, more than 10 paper enterprises have begun to layout large-scale projects.
Specifically, from the perspective of listed companies, on January 4, 2022, the signing ceremony of Zhejiang Rongsheng Environmental Protection Paper Joint Stock Co.Ltd(603165) annual output of 1.3 million tons of recycled environmental protection paper and comprehensive utilization of new energy was held in Chuzhou government service center, with a total investment of 10.5 billion yuan; On January 26, the signing ceremony of Quzhou Wuzhou Special Paper Co.Ltd(605007) Hubei 4.99 million ton pulp and paper integration project was held in Xiaogan, with a total investment of 17.3 billion yuan; On February 8, Xianhe Co.Ltd(603733) 10 billion yuan special paper project was started in Dongsheng Town, Shishou City. In addition, nine dragons paper expects that its 1.2 million tons of paperboard capacity in Hubei new base and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank Co.Ltd(600000) tons of paperboard capacity in Malaysia base will be put into operation in 2022.
In recent years, due to the advantages of domestic and international environmental protection policies, the scale of large-scale papermaking enterprises and the transformation of environmental protection policies have been further promoted, which has provided the driving force for the transformation of domestic and international environmental protection policies, and has been further promoted.
At the policy level, with the proposal of carbon peak and carbon neutralization goals, leading paper enterprises rely on capital and scale advantages to improve production efficiency and production technology, adjust energy structure and increase the use of clean energy. Some small and medium-sized paper enterprises are facing rising energy costs and environmental protection expenses, which are finally eliminated, making the industry release some capacity demand.
At the same time, the implementation of the “waste prohibition order” has led to the increasing cost of raw materials and the elimination of a large number of small and medium-sized enterprises.
According to the statistics of China Paper Association, since 2014, the number of paper production enterprises above Designated Size in China has shown a downward trend. By the end of 2020, the number of paper production enterprises above Designated Size in China has decreased to 2500, more than 400 less than that in 2014.
Liu Chunchun analyzed to reporters that some small and medium-sized enterprises had to withdraw from the market due to factors such as relatively backward production capacity and lack of scale advantages. At this stage, the whole industry has formed a situation of small factory retreat and large factory advance.
“At present, China’s paper industry has a large number of enterprises and small scale.” Liu Chunchun believes that in the future, with the merger and acquisition of vulnerable enterprises by the main advantageous enterprises in the industry market, the industry market concentration is expected to be further improved. In the future, in the more fierce market competition, the merger and reorganization of small enterprises by large enterprises will become an important choice and outlet for most small enterprises to continue to survive in the future.
In addition, some insiders told reporters that at this stage, there is a phenomenon of regional transfer and industrial concentration in the layout of papermaking enterprises. The eastern coastal zone accounts for more than 70% of the industry, but some enterprises began to gradually transfer to the central and western regions and other areas close to trees. At present, the raw materials of waste paper are limited. Large enterprises have the funds and technology to build new raw material production bases, while the financing channels and technology of small and medium-sized enterprises are relatively backward. The shortage of raw materials will accelerate the elimination of small and medium-sized enterprises.
Shandong Sun Paper Co.Ltd(002078) said that in cooperation with Nanning Municipal People’s government, it plans to invest in the construction of a forest pulp paper integration and supporting industrial park with an annual output of 5.25 million tons, which is mainly based on Nanning’s superior geographical location, good business environment, logistics and transportation advantages of the investment site and abundant forestry resources in Guangxi.
An executive of a listed paper enterprise told reporters that it is not difficult to see from the layout position of major enterprises that since the implementation of the “waste prohibition order”, the import and transportation advantages of raw wood pulp and forestry resources have become the key to the layout of enterprises. In addition, the industry will continue to increase production capacity in the future, indicating that enterprises and the government are very optimistic about the future of the market.
industry boom continues to improve
The continuous entry of a large amount of capital into the paper industry is also based on the continuous improvement of the prosperity of the industry in recent years.
Recently, a number of paper enterprises such as Jinguang paper, Shandong Sun Paper Co.Ltd(002078) , Shandong Chenming Paper Holdings Limited(000488) , Huatai Paper, Jianghe paper, Yueyang Forest & Paper Co.Ltd(600963) and others have issued price increase letters, announcing that the price of paper has increased by 300 yuan / ton.
In fact, since the second half of 2016, the prosperity of the paper industry has gradually recovered. Paper prices began to rise significantly, and the industry entered the upward channel.
According to the statistics of China Paper Association, since 2014, China’s paper and paperboard output has shown a volatile upward trend, and the growth rate has remained low. In 2017, China’s paper and paperboard production exceeded 110 million tons for the first time, a record high; In 2018, affected by the decline of industry prosperity, the overall output declined slightly. By 2019, China’s paper and paperboard production rebounded, with a cumulative output of 107.65 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 3.16%. In 2020, China’s paper and paperboard production continued to grow, reaching 112.6 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 4.6%, reaching a new high.
According to the latest data from the National Bureau of statistics, from January to December 2021, the output of machine-made paper and paperboard in China was 135839 million tons, with a year-on-year increase of 8.833 million tons and a growth rate of 6.8%, breaking the 130 million tons mark for the first time, reaching a record high.
In 2021, industrial enterprises above Designated Size achieved a total profit of 870921 billion yuan, an increase of 34.3% over the previous year, 39.8% over 2019 and an average increase of 18.2% over the two years. Among them, the total profit of papermaking and paper products industry was 88.48 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6.9%.
As of February 9, 2022, 10 of the 22 A-share listed companies in the paper and paper industry have disclosed the performance forecast for 2021, of which Shandong Sun Paper Co.Ltd(002078) , Shandong Bohui Paper Industry Co.Ltd(600966) , Zhejiang Jingxing Paper Joint Stock Co.Ltd(002067) , Fujian Qingshan Paper Industry Co.Ltd(600103) , Hangzhou Huawang New Material Technology Co.Ltd(605377) , Qifeng New Material Co.Ltd(002521) .
Shandong Sun Paper Co.Ltd(002078) the annual performance express of 2021 released recently shows that the company achieved a total operating revenue of 31.874 billion yuan in 2021, with a year-on-year increase of 47.64%; The net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies was 2.941 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 50.56%; After deducting non recurring profits and losses, the net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies was 2.922 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 51.94%. In addition, Shandong Bohui Paper Industry Co.Ltd(600966) ( Shandong Bohui Paper Industry Co.Ltd(600966) . SH) also recently disclosed the performance express of 2021. During the reporting period, its operating revenue was 16.276 billion yuan, an increase of 16.41% over the same period of last year; The net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies was 1.705 billion yuan, an increase of 104.44% over the same period last year.
In terms of export, in the past two years, China’s export volume and export amount of pulp, paper and their products have increased. According to the data, in 2020, China exported 9.16 million tons of pulp, paper and their products, with an export amount of US $21.01 billion. In 2021, China exported 9.38 million tons of pulp, paper and their products, with a year-on-year increase of 2.4%; The export value was about 24.36 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 16%.
