GGII：2024年锂电材料企业年报解读

Core Viewpoint - The lithium battery materials industry in China faced significant challenges in 2024, with overall revenue declining and profits becoming increasingly polarized among companies [8][26]. Industry Overview - In 2024, the revenue of major lithium battery material companies in China decreased across all four main materials, with cathode materials dropping over 40%, electrolyte down 20%, anode down 4.5%, and separators down 11.7% [8][9]. - Approximately half of the 38 listed companies reported losses, with cathode and electrolyte companies experiencing negative profits, while anode and separator companies managed to resist declines due to technological barriers, although their profits also fell significantly [8][9]. Cathode Materials - Cathode materials saw the largest revenue and profit declines, primarily due to a sharp drop in lithium salt raw material prices, which fell from approximately 600,000 yuan/ton at the end of 2022 to 77,000 yuan/ton at the end of 2024 [9]. - The market for ternary materials was particularly hard hit, with shipments remaining flat at 650,000 tons in 2024, while phosphate iron lithium materials surged by 49.1% to 2.46 million tons [9]. Anode Materials - Anode materials experienced a relatively small decline in revenue and profit, with shipments increasing by 26% to 2.08 million tons in 2024, offsetting price drops [10]. - The market showed a clear "two-tier" trend in capacity utilization, with leading companies achieving high utilization rates while newer entrants struggled [18]. Separator Materials - The revenue of listed companies in the separator segment fell by 11.68% to 15.79 billion yuan, with net profits plummeting by 85% to 838 million yuan [20]. - Price declines were the main factor for profit drops, with the average price of wet separators decreasing by over 30% throughout the year [21]. Electrolyte and Upstream Materials - The electrolyte segment saw a 20% revenue decline, with upstream materials like lithium hexafluorophosphate experiencing significant price drops, leading to a 9.34 billion yuan loss across ten companies [11][22]. - The industry is expected to see a consolidation of market share towards leading companies, while smaller firms face increasing pressure to exit the market [26]. Future Outlook - The lithium battery materials industry is anticipated to remain in a state of micro-profit or loss due to ongoing price pressures, with a need for companies to innovate and optimize costs to survive [26].