CNRE(SH:600111) 光大证券研究·2025-07-10 16:07Core Viewpoint - The company, Northern Rare Earth, is expected to achieve a significant increase in net profit for the first half of 2025, driven by rising prices of key rare earth products and reduced processing costs [3][4]. Group 1: Financial Performance - Northern Rare Earth anticipates a net profit attributable to shareholders of 900 million to 960 million yuan for the first half of 2025, representing a year-on-year increase of 1882.54% to 2014.71% [3]. - The average prices for key products in the first half of 2025 are projected to be 421,000 yuan/ton for praseodymium-neodymium oxide, 10,500 yuan/ton for cerium oxide, and 4,200 yuan/ton for lanthanum oxide, with year-on-year increases of 13.1%, 57.2%, and 9.8% respectively [4]. Group 2: Cost Management - The company has successfully reduced processing costs through enhanced benchmarking and operational improvements in smelting and separation processes [4][5]. Group 3: Project Development - The company is investing up to 7.8 billion yuan in a green smelting upgrade project, which is currently in the final stages of production line testing. This project will enhance the company's processing capabilities significantly [5]. - Upon completion, the project will enable the processing of 198,000 tons/year of mixed rare earth ore, with various extraction and crystallization capacities [5]. Group 4: Market Demand - The demand for rare earth materials remains strong, particularly in the electric vehicle sector, which saw production and sales growth of 45.2% and 44% respectively from January to May [6]. - New applications such as robotics and flying cars are expected to drive future growth in rare earth materials, with projected global demand for praseodymium-neodymium oxide reaching 117,000 tons and 126,900 tons in 2025 and 2026, respectively, reflecting year-on-year growth rates of 9.7% and 8.4% [6].