Benefiting from the upward price of lithium carbonate, the gross profit margin of Haofeng Lithium Industry in the first three quarters reached 37.59% , and the gross profit margin of Tianqi Lithium Industry in the first three quarters reached 69.77%.

Tianqi Lithium Industry and Yanfeng Lithium Industry have higher revenue and gross profit margin than other lithium carbonate enterprises, because these two companies hold rich lithium resources.

Market capital operation and layout of " Lithium and Electric Power"

Lithium carbonate market is improving. Yanfeng Lithium Industry and Tianqi Lithium Industry each exert their own advantages. Through mergers and acquisitions and fundraising at home and abroad, they will crack down on raw material bottlenecks and expand production capacity to the market.

In recent years, Haofeng Lithium has successfully acquired a 43.1% stake in RIM, a 17.5% stake in American Lithium and a 4.84% stake in Pilbara, a 100% stake in Jiangxi Lithium, and an 80% stake in the Mariana Brine in Argentina. A 55% stake in the Avalonia spodumene mine in Ireland has formed a diversified raw material supply system; currently the ore produces battery-grade lithium carbonate capacity of 15,000 tons/year, lithium hydroxide capacity of 10,000 tons/year, and newly built 20,000 tons of lithium hydroxide. The production line is expected to go into production after the Spring Festival in 2018, and the 175,000-ton battery-grade lithium carbonate production line is expected to be put into operation in the third quarter of 2018.

It is understood that Tianqi Lithium Industry acquired the Australian lithium mine company Talison in 2013, which laid the foundation for the company's development resources, significantly enhanced its anti-risk ability and diversified profit growth points. In 2015, it completed the acquisition of Zhangjiagang's 17,000-ton battery-grade lithium carbonate production base and continued to improve its technology. In 2016, Zhangjiagang's factory quickly formed effective production capacity, and realized the release of production capacity when the market broke out, converting resources and production capacity into operating profit. . In 2017, through the acquisition of Chongqing Tianqi's metal lithium and its profile production capacity, and the construction of a new production line in Australia, it is estimated that the lithium chemical plant capacity will reach 100,000 tons in 2020.

The current situation and future prospects of lithium carbonate prices

The first is the recovery of the new energy vehicle market to drive the rapid development of the upstream industrial chain. According to data released by the China Automobile Association, in October 2017, the production and sales of new energy vehicles in China were 92,000 and 91,000, respectively, up 85.9% and 106.7% respectively. Among them, the production and sales of pure electric vehicles were 77,000 units, up 76.3% and 95.8% respectively; the production and sales of plug-in hybrid vehicles were 14,000 units, up 163.6% and 194.0% respectively.

Secondly, the rising prices of upstream raw materials and the rapid growth of downstream customers have caused insufficient supply and demand of upstream lithium resources. The tightness of lithium resources has also driven the price of battery-grade lithium metal to continue to rise. On October 10, Yanfeng Lithium announced that on October 10, the unit price of battery-grade metal lithium, industrial grade lithium metal, lithium belt and lithium aluminum alloy was raised by 100 yuan per kilogram, valid until November 30. At the same time, it is also said that since the company uses all cash to purchase raw materials, the company requires all customers to pay for the goods. In October, Tianqi Lithium was overhauled, domestic lithium carbonate supply fell again, lithium carbonate prices rose again, and downstream demanders continued to seek resources from the international market. China's lithium carbonate imports are expected to continue to grow in November.

With the continuous expansion and distribution of domestic enterprises, the future production capacity of lithium carbonate will gradually release, and the price of lithium carbonate will stabilize. However, with the rumors of the early retreat of new energy vehicles causing industry panic, it is still a puzzle to get a seat in lithium carbonate in the future.