Weekly view of the chemical industry: the high price of lithium hexafluorophosphate has fallen, and may remain high in the short term

Market review:

Last week, the new material sector fell by 1.89%, and the Shanghai and Shenzhen 300 index rose by 2.43% in the same period. The new material sector lagged behind the market by 4.32 percentage points. In terms of individual stocks, 26 of the 101 stocks in the sector rose, and 15 outperformed the market. The top five gainers were Lushan Xincai (61.04%), Grinm Advanced Materials Co.Ltd(600206) (16.90%), Puyang Huicheng Electronic Material Co.Ltd(300481) (11.72%), Anji Microelectronics Technology (Shanghai) Co.Ltd(688019) (10.36%), Tangshan Sunfar Silicon Industry Co.Ltd(603938) (9.08%); The top five declines were Jiangsu Boiln Plastics Co.Ltd(301003) (- 32.39%), Jiangsu Shuangxing Color Plastic New Materials Co.Ltd(002585) (- 17.76%), Luoyang Glass Company Limited(600876) (- 13.71%), Phichem Corporation(300398) (- 11.58%), Hoshine Silicon Industry Co.Ltd(603260) (- 11.42%).

Industry hot spots:

Carbon fiber: on March 28, the construction of Zhejiang Baowan Shaoxing Keqiao precursor project was officially started. The project covers 120000 tons of carbon fiber precursor and supporting carbon fiber production capacity. Baowan carbon fiber, jointly funded by Baowu carbon industry and Wanhua Chemical Group Co.Ltd(600309) Wanhua Chemical Group Co.Ltd(600309) , is responsible for the operation. The project is also one of the three main development lines of Baowu carbon industry’s new carbon materials, which can lay a solid foundation for Baowu carbon industry to build a complete carbon fiber industrial chain and enhance the core competitiveness of carbon fiber production. The first phase of the project is planned to be completed by the end of 2023 and fully put into operation by the end of 2025. In recent years, with the rapid development of new industries such as downstream aerospace and wind power, China’s demand for high-end carbon fiber and its composites is expanding rapidly. China’s carbon fiber industry has entered a period of rapid growth. Mainstream manufacturers are accelerating technological breakthroughs in the field of high-end carbon fiber and its composites. Product performance and product categories are continuously optimized, and production capacity continues to expand, The localization rate of high-end products and the supply capacity of the industrial chain have been improved, and the number of enterprises entering the carbon fiber field is also expanding. In the future, the comprehensive competitiveness of Chinese carbon fiber production enterprises is expected to be further enhanced and gradually achieve full coverage in the field of high-end carbon fiber products. It is suggested to continue to pay attention to relevant leading enterprises.

Lithium hexafluorophosphate: Recently, the soaring price of lithium hexafluorophosphate began to fall. According to the data of Baichuan Yingfu, as of April 2, the mainstream price of lithium hexafluorophosphate in the market was concentrated between 45 Tianma Microelectronics Co.Ltd(000050) 0000 yuan / ton, and the average price in the Chinese market fell to 475000 yuan / ton, down about 17.39% and 14.41% month on month compared with the peak of 575000 yuan / ton in February. The main reason for the “loss” of the high price of lithium hexafluorophosphate is that some downstream manufacturers returned to work slowly after the festival, which further affected the commencement of downstream industries and the procurement rhythm of lithium hexafluorophosphate. Recently, the new capacity of lithium hexafluorophosphate is being released one after another, the pressure on the supply side has been relieved, the market supply and inventory have continued to rise, and the product price has begun to fall under the change of supply and demand structure. Although anhydrous hydrogen fluoride, lithium carbonate and other materials at the raw material end still maintain a high price, there is still some support for the price of lithium hexafluorophosphate in the short term, but the rise of raw materials has begun to slow down. In the future, as the downstream market starts to recover and the new production capacity is further released, it is expected that lithium hexafluorophosphate may usher in the inflection point of supply and demand balance from the middle to the end of this year, and the price will gradually return to rationality. In the process of medium and long-term development of the industry, the advantages of leading enterprises in environmental protection, capital and customers will be further highlighted. We will continue to be optimistic about the performance of relevant enterprises this year, It is suggested to continue to pay attention to industry leaders with integrated scale advantages.

Risk factors: downstream demand is less than expected; The domestic substitution process of core materials is less than expected; The construction progress of capacity under construction is less than expected; The price of raw materials fluctuated sharply.

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