Beijing Easpring Material Technology Co., Ltd. (Easpring, 300073.SZ) has recently released its financial report for Q3 2024, showing that the company achieved a revenue of 1.984 billion yuan in the third quarter of 2024, with a net profit attributable to the parent company of 177 million yuan, and a net profit attributable to the parent company after deducting non-recurring gains and losses of 105 million yuan. From January to September of this year, the company's revenue was 5.525 billion yuan, with a net profit attributable to the parent company of 464 million yuan, and a net profit attributable to the parent company after deducting non-recurring gains and losses of 322 million yuan. The company's overall profitability has remained stable.
In terms of product sales, in the first three quarters of 2024, the company's overall delivery of cathode materials has steadily increased, with a significant change in product structure. The shipment of lithium iron phosphate (manganese) products, that is LFP and LMFP, has seen a substantial increase both year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter, and the profit level has significantly improved. The company's product diversification strategy has achieved positive results.
The company's LFP/LMFP production base project in Panzhihua, with a planned capacity of 120,000 tons in the first phase, reached its production capacity of 40,000 tons in the first stage in the first half of this year and is now ramping up at full capacity. With the increasing demand for LFP/LMFP, the company will continue to optimize production processes, integrate the upstream supply chain, develop high-end customers, and promote refined cost control to further enhance the profitability of its LFP/LMFP business.
In terms of customer development, in the first three quarters of 2024, the company continued to strengthen its cooperative relationships with high-quality domestic and international customers such as LG, SK, CATL, and EVE Energy. Its products have been applied into overseas high-end OEMs such as Volkswagen, Hyundai, Daimler, and BMW. Products such as high-nickel, medium-nickel high voltage, and LFP/LMFP have been successfully supplied to clients in large quantities.
In terms of manufacturing, the company continues to upgrade its equipment, introducing a series of high-capacity, high-efficiency process equipment. This has not only significantly increased production capacity but also effectively reduced the fixed asset investment per ton. The company has developed and applied a series of new technologies, effectively increasing single-line capacity, improving product quality, and reducing the consumption of auxiliary energy.
The company's diversified cathode materials' profit levels have remained basically stable. At present, the company's annual capacity for nickel-manganese-cobalt/ nickel-manganese-cobalt- aluminum (NMC/NMCA) materials and lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) materials is about 110,000 tons. From January to September of this year, the company's NMC/NMCA material overseas sales volume accounted for about 50%, with overseas sales revenue representing more than 50% of the company's total.
In terms of high-capacity lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) products, the company's lithium cobalt oxide products have been applied in large quantities in the digital consumer electronics market. The application space for high-rate lithium cobalt oxide products in the fields of electronic cigarettes and model aviation is gradually expanding, and sales has maintained a steady upward trend. It is expected that with the country's strong support for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and low-altitude eVTOL, the lithium cobalt oxide market will usher in new market opportunities in the future.
In terms of the development progress of medium-nickel high-voltage ternary materials, Easpring has achieved full coverage of 5, 6, and 7 series (NMC 523/622/811), with high safety, low cost, and long life as performance advantages. Technical performance indicators are at an internationally advanced level, and they are supplied in large quantities to well-known battery manufacturers at home and abroad and are widely used in high-end electric vehicles worldwide, receiving high recognition from customers.
In addition, the company is actively promoting the development and technological upgrading of new products such as layered oxide and polyanionic cathode materials for sodium-ion batteries. The company stated that it has successfully broken through the technical difficulties of the above materials in key performance areas such as high capacity, long cycle, low gas generation, and low resistance. The comprehensive performance has reached a first-class level in the industry and has been applied in large quantities in fields such as high-power auto start-stop lithium-ion battery, engineering vehicles, and energy storage, with a continuous and stable increase in product sales.
With the increase in sodium-ion battery energy density, sodium-ion batteries will have a larger application space in areas such as start-stop, two-wheelers and other low-speed vehicles in the next 3-5 years, as an effective complement to lithium iron phosphate materials in the mid-to-low-end market. With the advantages of low temperature, long life, and low cost, sodium-ion batteries will also achieve rapid growth in the energy storage field. In addition, sodium-ion batteries will gradually creep their application in the electric vehicle market. Recently, CATL released the Freevoy lithium-ion & sodium-ion hybrid battery pack for EREVs and PHEVs, which has successfully applied to several car brands including Li Auto, AVATR, DEEPAL, CHANGAN NEVO, and NETA, through its pioneering AB battery system integration technology, mixing and integrating sodium-ion batteries with lithium-ion batteries in a certain proportion and order to achieve a 5% increase in cruising range in low-temperature environment.
As for the next-generation battery materials, Easpring has established close strategic cooperative relationships with a couple of leading solid-state battery customers such as Qingtao, ProLogium, Welion, and Ganfeng, and has achieved vehicle application. The invention patent related to the new lithium-rich manganese-based layered oxides materials (LRMO) has been authorized in South Korea and has been introduced to a few top battery makers at home and abroad.
The company is also actively expanding to international markets. Its new material produciton base in Finland is progressing smoothly. The first phase of the project, which plans an annual production capacity of 60,000 tons of NMC cathode materials, is expected to be put into production in 2027.
The company stated that it will continue to strengthen its competitive advantages in the lithium/-ion battery industry from various aspects such as technology, products, capacity, and customers.
