TF Securities(SH:601162) 智通财经网·2025-08-19 09:01Core Viewpoint - The cement industry is experiencing a significant decline in prices, with a need for "anti-involution" measures to address overcapacity and improve profitability [1][2]. Group 1: Industry Overview - In 2024, the capacity share of central state-owned enterprises in the cement industry is expected to be around 45%, with the top four companies being state-owned, indicating a favorable competitive structure for anti-involution efforts [1]. - The industry's concentration ratios (CR10, CR5, CR2) are projected to reach 57%, 44%, and 31% respectively in 2024, highlighting a high level of market concentration [1]. Group 2: Financial Performance - The cement industry faced a challenging period, with over 55% of companies reporting losses in the worst quarter, but a recovery is expected in Q4 2024, with total profits projected to be between 150-160 billion yuan, reversing a loss of 11 billion yuan in the same period last year [2]. - The average national cement price has decreased by 43.7 yuan/ton year-on-year as of early August, indicating a return to the industry's lowest profitability levels seen in the previous year [2]. Group 3: Supply-Side Reform - Previous supply-side reforms successfully reduced new capacity and improved industry profitability, with profits rising from 518 billion yuan in 2016 to a historical high of 1867 billion yuan in 2019 [3]. - The industry has reached a peak supply level of around 1.8 billion tons, but demand continues to decline, leading to a projected capacity utilization rate of only 53% in 2024 [4]. Group 4: Future Outlook - The anti-involution strategy will involve a combination of market, administrative, and legal measures, with short-term reliance on staggered production to stabilize the market [5]. - In the medium term, administrative measures will likely force companies to reduce capacity, potentially leading to a 19.5% decrease in actual capacity to 1.77 billion tons [5]. - Long-term expectations include stricter carbon emission policies by 2027, which may increase production costs and accelerate the exit of high-emission capacities from the market [5].