Recently, the quarterly report of 2022 released by Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.Limited(300750) shows that during the reporting period, the company achieved a revenue of 48.68 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 154.0% and a month on month decrease of 14.6%; The net profit attributable to the parent company was 1.49 billion yuan, down 23.6% year-on-year and 81.7% month on month.
Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.Limited(300750) first quarter profit pressure is mainly due to the decline in gross profit margin. In the fourth quarter of 2021, the overall gross profit margin of the company was 24.7%, compared with 14.5% in the first quarter of 2022, with a month on month decline of 10.2 percentage points.
The decline of gross profit margin is mainly subject to the rapid growth of upstream raw material prices. According to GGII data, the average market prices of ternary medium nickel cathode material, lithium iron phosphate cathode material, electrolyte and cathode material increased by about 171%, 222%, 98% and 18% respectively in March 2022 compared with the beginning of 2021.
Many industry analysts believe that the impact of raw material fluctuations on Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.Limited(300750) performance belongs to short-term impact and does not change the judgment of the company’s long-term competitiveness and development trend. The leading position of the company is stable. With the improvement of the shortage of upstream material supply and the gradual implementation of factors such as rising prices to the downstream, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.Limited(300750) subsequent profitability is expected to be gradually repaired.
The shortage of upstream material supply has improved
Changjiang Securities Company Limited(000783) analyst Ma Jun believes that the price rise of China’s second tier battery factories began in the fourth quarter of last year or early this year, and the range is large Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.Limited(300750) has negotiated with customers to jointly deal with the cost pressure of the supply chain.
Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.Limited(300750) Board Secretary Jiang Li also confirmed this statement. He said that this round of price increases has a wide range and a large range. The company has to carry out friendly negotiation with customers to dynamically adjust the battery price and jointly face the pressure of the supply chain. The customers also expressed their understanding and support. Recently, the price negotiation of major customers has been basically completed. As negotiation and price transmission take some time, it was not reflected in the first quarter.
At the same time, the layout of Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.Limited(300750) at the upstream resource end will also benefit the long-term development of the company Yuan jiancong, Citic Securities Company Limited(600030) chief new energy vehicle analyst, said that in the short term, due to the sharp rise in the price of upstream raw materials and a certain lag in the price rise of downstream customers, the profitability of the company is under pressure at different stages. However, with the gradual implementation of the price rise of downstream customers and the accelerated layout of upstream resources, the profitability of the company is expected to gradually recover in the follow-up.
” Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.Limited(300750) has strengthened the investment and layout of the upstream supply chain in the past two years. With the gradual implementation of the layout, it will help to further ensure the supply of raw materials and stabilize the purchase price.” Jiang Li said.
From the perspective of the industry close to the market, the shortage of upstream material supply is improving. “At present, the growth of raw materials is slowing down, and some of them begin to decline. The epidemic situation in China has gradually improved, and the supply chain has gradually recovered. At the same time, the market demand is still strong, the company’s market share is still steadily improving, and its competitiveness is prominent. We are very optimistic about the development prospects of the industry and the company.” Jiang Li said.
The leading position is stable
The short-term performance pressure does not change the long-term development trend, and the market space of Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.Limited(300750) industry is huge. Yuan jiancong said that considering the relatively certain trend of global automobile electrification, the continuous shortage of high-end power batteries and the huge market space brought by energy reform, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.Limited(300750) as the leader of energy reform, is expected to fully enjoy the development opportunities of the industry. The company’s power battery business is in a high-speed growth period, and the energy storage business will gradually enter the growth period from the introduction period, with high growth certainty and medium and long-term investment value.
In terms of market share, the company, as the absolute leader of first-line power batteries, continues to maintain a high market share. In the Chinese market, according to the data of China Automotive Power Battery Industry Innovation Alliance (cabia), the installed capacity of Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.Limited(300750) China Shipbuilding Industry Group Power Co.Ltd(600482) battery in 2021 was 80.51gwh, with a year-on-year increase of 153% and a market share of 52.1%, an increase of 2.10 percentage points over 2020, still ranking first in China.
In terms of overseas market, according to sneresearch statistics, the market share of Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.Limited(300750) global power battery in 2021 was 32.6%, with a year-on-year increase of 8 percentage points. It has remained the first in the world for five consecutive years and its leading position is stable.
The stable leading position cannot be achieved without excellent technical reserves. In Jiang Li’s view, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.Limited(300750) ‘s leading edge in technology is expanding. “At the end of 2021, the company had more than 10000 R & D personnel, owned and applied for more than 10000 foreign patents, leading the industry in terms of scale and growth rate. In 2021, the company invested 7.7 billion yuan in R & D, an increase of 115% year-on-year. It successively launched 12000 long-life batteries, sodium ion batteries, Kirin batteries, etc., and has reserved technologies in many technical routes such as solid-state batteries, cobalt free batteries and negative metal batteries. In mass-produced models, our electricity The pool always leads in performance. ” Jiang Li said that the company also obtained a technology license fee of US $150 million per year by licensing ATL technology, and signed a CTP technology license and cooperation intention agreement with Hyundai Mobis.
Regarding the Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.Limited(300750) future profit trend, Ma Jun believes that the price negotiation of the company will be basically implemented within the year. If the impact of the epidemic on production is controllable, it is expected to see an inflection point in the second quarter. Even if pessimistic, there will be a recovery trend in the second half of the year. In addition, the layout of the company on the resource side is accelerated, and incremental contributions such as recycling are expected to be reflected. The self supply rate of lithium resources of the company is expected to reach more than 40% in 2023, with a clear inflection point. It is estimated that the net profit in 2023 will be 39.7 billion yuan, corresponding to 24 times of PE.
