SCPH(SZ:000488) Guo Tai Jun An Qi Huo·2025-12-18 13:04Report Industry Investment Rating No relevant information provided. Core Viewpoints of the Report - The paper price will fluctuate and seek the bottom throughout the year, with possible seasonal rebounds. The estimated price fluctuation range for the first half of 2026 is about 3,600 - 4,400 yuan/ton [3][83]. - The supply side will still see new capacity put into operation, and the resumption of production at Zhanjiang Chenming is on the agenda. The demand side will continue to be stable. The long - term supply surplus pattern remains unchanged, but the contradiction is relatively alleviated. Short - selling on rallies is still a relatively safe choice [3][83]. - Double - offset paper consumption has obvious seasonality. From March to May (with a delay in recent years) and from September to November are the tendering time points for the next spring's teaching and auxiliary materials. During these periods, there may be seasonal inventory replenishment in the distributor link and improved consumption, driving the paper price to rebound [3][83]. - The long - term decline of paper prices has forced paper mills to adjust formulas and optimize costs. The ton - paper costs of mainstream large - scale mills are concentrated in the range of 3,750 - 4,350 yuan/ton, and enterprises with integrated layouts have stronger competitiveness [3][83]. - In terms of bargaining power, pulp mills have stronger bargaining power than paper mills. From the perspective of industrial chain transmission, production enterprises naturally have the willingness to raise prices, but whether it can be implemented still depends on many factors [3][83]. Summary According to the Directory 1. Low - price Quagmire under Weak Supply and Demand 1.1 Market Review - In 2025, the price center of the domestic double - offset paper spot market moved down significantly, and the double - offset paper futures generally maintained a range - bound trend after listing [6]. - From January to March 2025, the double - offset paper price remained firm. The price of natural white double - offset paper fluctuated between 5,000 - 5,200 yuan/ton, and the high - white double - offset paper price was between 5,300 - 5,500 yuan/ton. The support for the paper price came from strong pulp prices before the Spring Festival, reduced supply pressure due to the shutdown of most production lines of Chenming Paper, and short - term inventory replenishment by distributors. The upward pressure came from the lack of concentrated tendering by publishers, poor continuity of printer orders, and the decline of pulp prices after the Spring Festival [6]. - Since April 2025, the spot market has shown a unilateral downward trend. The average price of natural white double - offset paper has fallen to about 4,400 yuan/ton, and the high - white double - offset paper price has fallen to about 4,700 yuan/ton. The reasons include the decline in double - offset paper consumption due to the population cycle and the "one textbook, one supplementary material" policy, the resumption of production at some Chenming production bases, and the limited support of pulp prices for paper prices [7]. - In the futures market, the trading volume and open interest of double - offset paper futures were low at the beginning of listing and gradually improved later. After the introduction of market - makers by the Shanghai Futures Exchange, the activity of double - offset paper futures increased significantly. As of early December, the open interest of the main contract exceeded 18,000 lots, and the trading volume was in the range of 3,000 - 5,000 lots. The futures price was at a discount to the spot price, and the basis was always positive [9]. 1.2 Profit Characteristics - Due to the stronger scarcity of pulp than finished paper, higher downstream dependence on high - quality virgin wood pulp, and more severe downstream supply - demand surplus, the upstream has stronger bargaining power, and the industrial chain profit has shifted from the downstream to the upstream. After April 2025, the pulp price was relatively firm, the production cost of double - offset paper increased, and the gross profit per ton declined significantly, reaching a historical low [12]. 2. The Pressure of Capacity Expansion Eases, but Supply Remains in Excess 2.1 Slowdown in Domestic Capacity Expansion - The double - offset paper production capacity expansion cycle is not over, but the growth rate of capacity expansion has slowed down. In 2025, the newly put - into - operation cultural paper capacity in China was about 1.9 million tons, mainly double - offset paper. It is expected that by the end of 2025, the domestic double - offset paper capacity will reach 17.98 million tons, a year - on - year increase of 12%. In 2026, Liansheng will put into operation two cultural paper production lines with a total capacity of about 1.2 million tons. It is expected that the domestic double - offset paper capacity in 2026 will be 19.18 million tons, a year - on - year increase of 6.67% [20]. - The overall capacity utilization rate of the cultural paper industry should be considered comprehensively. Since specific paper machines can produce multiple paper types, simply using double - offset paper production divided by the total cultural paper capacity may underestimate the industry's capacity utilization rate. The overall operating level of the uncoated woodfree paper industry may remain at around 79% [24][25]. 2.2 Resumption of Production at Chenming Paper - The resumption of production at Zhanjiang Chenming is on the agenda, and the supply pressure will increase. The company plans to resume production at the Zhanjiang base by the end of the year, and the market expects two cultural paper production lines with a total capacity of about 450,000 tons and one chemimechanical pulp production line to start operation in January 2026 [28]. - In 2025, from January to October, the domestic double - offset paper production decreased significantly due to the decline in terminal demand and insufficient orders. From January to November 2025, the double - offset paper production statistics from different information agencies showed a decline. The industry's operating rate was generally low, and although there was a slight improvement in November, it still reflected the supply - side surplus [30][33]. 2.3 Imports Remain at a Low Level - China has a low import dependence on double - offset paper. From 2021 to 2025, the import volume of double - offset paper in China showed a decreasing trend. In 2025, from January to October, the import volume of double - offset paper was about 142,000 tons, a year - on - year decrease of 18%, mainly due to the prominent domestic supply - demand contradiction and the lack of price advantage for imported paper [36]. 3. Demand Remains Stable with Little Fluctuation 3.1 Consumption Structure and Apparent Consumption Performance in 2025 - The main domestic consumption of double - offset paper comes from books, accounting for about 90% of the total consumption. The consumption of books and notebooks has declined in recent years due to the population cycle and policies, while the consumption of periodicals and other products has remained relatively stable [38]. - In 2025, from January to October, the apparent consumption of double - offset paper decreased significantly. According to different information agencies' statistics, the year - on - year decrease ranged from 5% to 10% [42]. 3.2 Slow Growth in Terminal Consumption - From January to October 2025, the consumption of double - offset paper continued to decline due to the "one textbook, one supplementary material" policy and the population cycle decline. The consumption has obvious seasonality, with traditional peak seasons from March to May and from October to December. However, in recent years, the tendering and printing time of autumn teaching and auxiliary materials have been delayed [44][45]. - The decline in the consumption of standard products is mainly due to the "one subject, one supplementary material" policy and the decrease in the number of school - age students. The "double - reduction" and "one subject, one supplementary material" policies have reduced the demand for teaching and training supplementary materials. The number of school - age students is expected to continue to decline in 2026 [47][50]. - The consumption of social books is also affected by e - reading, but the growth rate of the Chinese online literature user scale has slowed down. The "National Reading Promotion Regulations" to be implemented in 2026 may drive the consumption of double - offset paper for social books [52][54]. 3.3 Exports May Remain Stable - The export volume of double - offset paper in China has increased first and then decreased in the past five years. In 2024, it was about 970,000 tons, a year - on - year decrease of 12%. In 2025, from January to October, the export volume decreased by 15% year - on - year, mainly due to the increasing international environmental uncertainty and the loss of some overseas orders [57][60]. - China's double - offset paper exports are mainly to Southeast Asian countries. In 2025, from January to October, the top five export destinations were Japan, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, Australia, and Hong Kong, China. Considering the local market conditions and the relaxation of the US tariff policy on China, the exports in 2026 may remain stable [62]. 3.4 Synchronous Inventory Accumulation in the Upstream and Downstream - Since the second half of 2025, the industrial chain inventory has shown synchronous accumulation in social inventory and enterprise inventory. Different information agencies' statistics show some differences, but the overall trend is inventory accumulation. It is expected that paper mills will still face inventory - reduction pressure in the first half of 2026, which is negative for the price [66][67]. 4. How to Measure the Pulp - Paper Contradiction 4.1 Spot Profit Calculation - The current apparent profit level of the pulp - paper industry has reached the lowest level in the same period of history, but there has been no large - scale capacity clearance. The main reason is the adjustment of formulas and cost optimization by paper mills. The mainstream large - scale mills' ton - paper costs are concentrated in the range of 3,750 - 4,350 yuan/ton [72]. - Newly added capacity is mostly equipped with pulp lines. Enterprises with integrated layouts have stronger competitiveness. In 2026, more pulp lines will be put into operation, further enhancing the cost advantage and competitiveness of integrated enterprises [73]. - It is expected that about 3.45 million tons of pulp capacity will be put into operation in China in 2026, and the growth rate of capacity expansion will slow down. The supply pressure will be mainly concentrated in the fourth quarter [74]. 4.2 Strengthened Linkage between Pulp and Paper - The contradiction between pulp and paper has deepened in recent years. The reasons include the higher scarcity of pulp, higher dependence on imported pulp in China, more concentrated upstream pulp mill capacity, and higher supply surplus in the papermaking industry [76][79][80]. - As the downstream profit is continuously compressed, the price linkage between pulp and paper is strengthening. Whether pulp mills and paper mills can raise prices depends on factors such as maintaining stable customer orders, inventory pressure, downstream customer acceptance, and market seasonality and price expectations [80]. 5. Market Outlook and Investment Strategy - The paper price will fluctuate and seek the bottom throughout the year, with possible seasonal rebounds. The estimated price fluctuation range for the first half of 2026 is about 3,600 - 4,400 yuan/ton [83]. - Investment outlook: In the first half of 2026, conduct bilateral operations around the range of 3,600 - 4,400 yuan/ton; short - sell processing profits on rallies (long SP, short OP) [83].