Zhongyuan Securities·2025-09-22 11:00Investment Rating - The report maintains an "Outperform" rating for the lithium battery industry [1][7]. Core Insights - The lithium battery index has outperformed the CSI 300 index, with a year-to-date increase of 48.12%, surpassing the CSI 300 by 33.71 percentage points as of September 19, 2025 [4][11]. - The industry is experiencing a recovery in net profit growth, with a 28.07% year-on-year increase in net profit for the first half of 2025 [7][25]. - The report emphasizes the importance of focusing on three main investment lines within the lithium battery sector [7]. Summary by Sections Industry Performance - The lithium battery sector's revenue for 2024 was 2.25 trillion yuan, a slight increase of 0.07% year-on-year, while net profit was 110.14 billion yuan, down 22.02% [7][18]. - In the first half of 2025, the sector's revenue reached 1.14 trillion yuan, a 13.78% increase year-on-year, with 67.92% of companies reporting positive growth [7][19]. New Energy Vehicle Sales - Global sales of new energy vehicles reached 10.6574 million units from January to July 2025, a 24.57% increase year-on-year [7][12]. - In China, new energy vehicle sales for the same period were 9.592 million units, up 36.37% year-on-year, with exports accounting for 150.5 thousand units, a growth of 83.76% [7][12]. Price Trends in the Supply Chain - The prices of key materials in the lithium battery supply chain have shown significant differentiation, with lithium carbonate prices at 72,500 yuan per ton, down 4.28% since the beginning of the year, while electrolytic cobalt prices rose to 279,000 yuan per ton, an increase of 63.64% [7][19]. Investment Strategy - The report suggests maintaining an "Outperform" rating based on the industry's growth prospects and valuation levels, with the lithium battery sector's valuation at 29.11 times earnings as of September 19, 2025 [7][19]. - The report recommends focusing on three main investment lines within the lithium battery industry, considering the trends in the sector and the performance of sub-sectors [7][19].