Zhou Fangchao, Vice President of Global New Materials International: In the future, we will focus on the development of new energy battery materials based on synthetic mica
◎The reporter noticed that compared with Kuncai Technology (603826, SH), a listed company in the same industry of pearlescent pigments, the gross profit margin of Global New Materials International is better than that of Kuncai Technology (gross profit margin in 2020 is 40.18%), but the market valuation But it is not as good as Kuncai Technology, which has a price-earnings ratio of about 107 times, while Global New Materials International is 33.5 times. Is the current market valuation too low?
Every reporter Wang Fan every editor Chen Junjie
In July this year, global new material international (06616, HK), a new material manufacturer, officially landed on the Hong Kong stock market. On November 23, four months after listing, Global New Materials International held its first investor meeting.
Global New Materials International's important products are pearlescent pigments, which are related to traditional pigments. Pearlescent pigments have the advantages of non-fading, health and environmental protection, high stability, and bright colors. They are widely used in industrial coatings, plastics, textiles and leather, cosmetics and automotive coatings. As the raw material natural mica mineral resources are limited, in recent years, Global New Materials International has gradually extended upstream to develop artificial synthetic mica products.
The reporter of "Daily Economic News" learned at the investor meeting that the market value level, the progress of fundraising projects, the future planning and growth space of the two major product lines have become the focus of investors' attention. Zhou Fangchao, vice president and executive director of Global New Materials International, said at the meeting that in terms of pearlescent pigment products, the company will focus on the automotive-grade and cosmetic-grade markets; in terms of synthetic mica, Global New Materials International's research and development is based on synthetic mica. It is a new generation of lithium-ion battery separator material with excellent heat resistance, which is the company's key development direction in the future.
The production enhancement project will be fully operational by 2025
Pearlescent pigment is a high-grade pigment formed by coating a layer of oxide film (coating layer) with a base material such as mica. It subverts traditional pigments due to the interference of light. It is safe, environmentally friendly, and does not fade. It belongs to a strategic emerging industry.
As an important manufacturer of pearlescent pigments in China, Global New Materials International achieved operating income of 318 million yuan, 441 million yuan, and 569 million yuan respectively from 2018 to 2020, and the net profit attributable to the parent was 77.4 million yuan, 10,300 yuan, and 148 million yuan. Gross profit margins are 46.2%, 49.5%, and 49.9%, rising to 52.7% in the first half of 2021.
The "Daily Economic News" reporter noticed that compared with Kuncai Technology (603826, SH), a listed company in the same industry as pearlescent pigments, the gross profit margin of Global New Materials International is better than that of Kuncai Technology (gross profit margin in 2020 is 40.18%) , but the market valuation is not as good as Kuncai Technology, which has a price-earnings ratio of about 107 times, while Global New Materials International is 33.5 times.
Is the current market valuation too low? On November 23, Zhou Fangchao, Executive Director, Vice President of Global New Materials International, said in response to investors' questions: "The company's market value is currently a certain distance from its competitors, but we believe that the market value is a process of growth. Do a good job in performance and fundamentals, and at the same time have more communication with investors, so that investors can discover the value of the company.”
It is worth mentioning that the current output of Global New Materials International is 18,000 tons of pearlescent pigments and 8,000 tons of synthetic mica per year. The prospectus disclosed that the existing production facilities of the first phase of the production plant are almost at full capacity. The annual utilization rate is close to 100%. Therefore, the increase in production has become the top priority for Global New Materials International to expand the market scale.
It can be seen from the use of the investment funds raised from the listing that the funds raised are mainly used for the construction of the second-phase production plant for the production of pearlescent pigment products (the designed annual output is 30,000 tons) and the Luzhai synthetic mica plant for the production of synthetic mica chips (the designed annual output is 30,000 tons). Zhou Fangchao said at the meeting that the two projects will be completed and put into operation in the fourth quarter of this year and the fourth quarter of next year, and will be fully operational by 2025.
Development of new energy battery materials based on synthetic mica
According to the research report of CITIC Securities, the global market size of pearlescent pigments in 2020 is 18.9 billion yuan, and it is expected to increase to 44.6 billion yuan by 2025. The downstream demand for pearlescent pigments is diversified, and the overall compound annual growth rate in China in the next five years is as high as 24%. Coatings are the largest downstream application of pearlescent pigments. Pearlescent pigments account for about 10% of pearlescent paints. Pearlescent pigments in the automotive field have the longest certification cycle. Once they pass the inspection, they will be firmly bound to the car factory. The proportion of pearlescent pigments in eyeshadow is about At 5%-10%, it is expected to penetrate into all kinds of makeup trays with excellent decorative effect.
Regarding the development of downstream product applications, Zhou Fangchao said at the investor meeting: "Automotive and cosmetics are the fastest rising downstream industries, and they are also the company's current focus of development." He cited third-party data and pointed out that in the automotive market, due to penetration The growth rate, production and car ownership are expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate of 47.1% from 2021 to 2025 in the global automotive pearlescent pigment market; in the cosmetics market, benefiting from consumption upgrades and increased appearance awareness, it is expected to grow from 2021 to 2025. The CAGR to 2025 is 32.8%.
"At present, the company's cosmetic-grade pearlescent pigments have entered a number of well-known domestic and foreign cosmetic companies, and this year's sales have accounted for more than 10%; regarding automotive-grade pearlescent pigments, the company has been researching since 2015, and successfully passed in 2018. The most stringent inspection standard for automotive-grade products, that is, the two-year weather resistance exposure test in Hainan Island, has the conditions to enter the auto OEM, refinish paint, and spare parts markets, and has now achieved mass sales." Zhou Fangchao Express.
It is worth mentioning that in the production process of pearlescent pigments, mica is an important raw material, the source of luster of pearlescent pigments, and also has good insulation, high temperature resistance, heat insulation and other characteristics. Natural mica is a mineral resource and is subject to foreign imports. In order to break through the restrictions on the acquisition of mica resources and realize import substitution, synthetic mica technology has gradually become a new competitive barrier in the pearlescent pigment industry. The industrial chain has formed a trend of upstream integration, and many companies have also begun to explore new applications of synthetic mica.
The reporter learned that synthetic mica has good application prospects in the field of new energy. Coating mica material on the battery separator is expected to improve the steric stability and flatness of the separator without affecting the permeability of lithium ions, thereby reducing the Risk of short circuit due to positive and negative contact.
Zhou Fangchao said that in the field of synthetic mica, the company will focus on the development of new energy battery materials based on synthetic mica in the future, and is currently developing a new generation of lithium-ion battery separators. According to the current results, the product has good high temperature resistance, which can significantly improve the safety of the battery; good liquid absorption and retention, and effectively improve the battery cycle performance; high porosity, so that the internal resistance of the battery is small, and the energy conversion rate is high. He revealed that new energy battery materials based on synthetic mica are expected to be introduced to the market in 2022.
