Crazy fluorite

Business Club September 21 hearing This is a battlefield without gun smoke, competition for things - "fluorite" had been criticized as "cabbage price."

However, under the expectation of national policies and fluorite resources, the price of fluorite has gradually increased, and it has triggered many crazy contenders for listed fluorite mines by listed companies.

On September 15, Yongtai Technology (002326.SZ) issued an announcement: The company acquired a 70% stake in Hainan Xinhui Mining Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Xinhui Mining) with its own funds of RMB 98 million.

Since the second half of this year, this is the third listed company to acquire a fluorite mine, but the price bubble has also emerged.

The crazy premium Yongtai Technology Notice shows that Xinhui Mining is registered in Qiongzhong County, Hainan Province with a registered capital of 35 million yuan. There are only two shareholders in the mining industry, namely Hu Yuanguang, who invested 28 million yuan and accounted for 80%, and Hu Yuanguang, who contributed 7 million yuan and contributed 20%.

This time, Yongtai Science and Technology acquired 70% of Hu Qiang’s previously held equity, and the transaction price was 98 million, which was 4.46 times higher than the net asset appreciation. Xinhui Mining owns 1.4039 million tons of ore reserves and 592,300 tons of *** resources. The construction scale of the concentrator is 100,000 tons/year, the average grade of the ore is 45.41%, and the annual output is about 35,000 tons of concentrate.

However, it is worth noting that Xinhui Mining has been in the construction phase and only obtained the “Mining Permit” issued by the Department of Land and Environmental Resources of Hainan Province at the end of last year, and it has been at a loss stage since last year and this year.

Yongtai Technology is not the first listed company to acquire fluorite at a high price.

On September 14, Tianye Communication (002459.SZ) announced that the company has acquired capital by acquiring self-owned equity of the current shareholder of Haohan Yinyi Mining Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Yinyi Mining) and increasing its investment in Yinyi Mining. After Yinyin Mining 75% of the total equity, the total investment is *** 135 million yuan.

According to an assessment report issued by Shanghai Zhonghua Assets Appraisal Co., Ltd., on May 31st as the base date, the total equity value of Yinyi Mining's shareholders was 65.19 million yuan, and the valuation increment was as high as 18.32 times.

According to the announcement, the core assets of Yinyi Mining include fluorite ore, a fluorspar processing plant with a daily processing capacity of 300 tons, and a hydrofluoric acid production facility with an annual production capacity of 10,000 tons. Yinyi Mining owns Baizhangzi fluorite ore, and its proven reserves of ore are 460,500 tons, with an average grade of 58.31%. The existing production scale is 15,000 tons per year.

The announcement promises that Yinyi Mining's 2011 after-tax profit will not be less than RMB 20 million. However, in 2009 and 2010, Yinyi Mining lost 2.5816 million yuan and 3.0607 million yuan respectively. From January to May this year, the net profit was 3,821,500 yuan. As of the end of May, Yinyi Mining's net assets were -376.4 million yuan.

A Shanghai-based manager told reporters that Tianye Communication’s monetary funds were only 420 million yuan in the first half of the year, and 135 million yuan in acquisition funds accounted for more than 30%. “This high premium acquisition risk is too high, Yinyi Mining loses two losses. In the past year, the degree of fluorinating industry boom was so good this year, and it did not see how much money it earned. Who can guarantee that Yinyin Mining can achieve a net profit of 20 million this year."

Like Tianye Tonglian and Yongtai Technology, Fluorine (002407.SZ) announced on August 4 that it had acquired a 40% stake in Aohan Qijingchang Fluorite Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Jingchang Company) for 24 million yuan.

According to the announcement, Jingchang Company is located in Aohan Banner, Chifeng City, Inner Mongolia. It currently owns the Dadianzi fluorite mine and currently has four mining areas. The fluorite ore grade is over 45%, and the reserves are over 1.1 million tons. The annual production scale is 15,000 tons. .

Why is there so much listed companies buying fluorite mines at high prices behind the high premium?

A source from the Yongtai Science and Technology Office told the reporter that the purpose of the acquisition was mainly to ensure the stable supply of raw materials for the company through the integration of upstream fluorite mines. "The company belongs to the fluorine fine chemical industry, and fluorspar is the main raw material for the fluorine chemical industry. Now that the price of fluorite has risen sharply, it will not be a bad thing for the enterprise to buy upstream minerals as soon as possible."

As the ratio of fluorite storage and production declined, the fluorite resources in countries and regions such as Europe and the United States, which are the main fluorspar consumption, were depleted. The price of fluorite began to climb all the way since the beginning of last year. The data obtained by the reporter from the China Fluorite Professional Committee showed that in October 2009, the ex-factory price of fluorite powder lump ore was about 1,000 yuan per ton. By the end of August this year, the ex-factory price had climbed to between 2,900 yuan and 3,000 yuan. Two-year gains almost doubled.

"It is for this reason that the downstream fluorine chemical companies have begun to purchase minerals upstream." Galaxy Securities researcher Hu Ang told reporters.

In fact, of the three listed companies that acquired fluorite mines, in addition to Tianye Tonglian, both Fluoride and Yongtai Technology belong to the fluorine chemical industry.

However, how profitable is the acquisition of fluorite mines for fluorochemical listed companies?

“Although they are all calling for precious fluorite resources, upstream is not a center of gravity in the entire fluorine chemical industry chain.” The aforementioned manager told reporters.

Although listed companies can benefit from the integration of fluorite resources, the improvement in the quality of non-downstream fluorine chemical products alone may not be able to achieve long-term benefits.

"The increase in fluorite prices has been diluted with the extension of the fluorine chemical industry chain. The increase in end products is much larger than that of fluorspar."

China Chemical Network data show that in the first half of this year, the price of fluoride salt rose more than the increase in upstream raw materials, the current price has reached 10,000 yuan / ton. Affected by this, the fluoridated salt industry's leading enterprise, fluoridation, increased its gross profit margin from 23.29% in the same period last year to 26.51% in the first half of this year.

The reporter learned from the interview that the price of fluorspar, which is the most upstream of the fluorine chemical industrial chain, is currently under 3,000 yuan, while the price of anhydrous hydrofluoric acid is converted into several thousand yuan and one ton; the price of R22 in the middle reaches of the industrial chain About 10,000 yuan, the tonnage of refrigerant is tens of thousands of yuan; the price of fluorine-containing resin (PTFE, PVDF) and fluorine rubber located in the downstream of the industrial chain is more than one ten thousand yuan; the price of fluorine-containing intermediate products is even higher. A ton of a million yuan, while the price of some fluorine-containing fine chemicals even in the tens of millions of tons.

It can be seen that the value of the fluorine chemical industry is centered on the middle and lower reaches.

Huon told reporters that in the fluorine chemical industry chain, China's advantage is that it is near the low-end products of raw materials. “The high value of high-end fluorine fine chemical products is very small, and the key technologies, devices, and production controls are also completely backward. The competitiveness of enterprises is far from the international fluorine chemical companies.”

The above-mentioned manager told the reporter that the acquisition of upstream minerals is only a source of stable raw materials, and real profit and development still require downstream innovation and improvement.

In addition, the listed companies that acquire fluorite mines will also be subject to the mining volume policy.

Since 2010, the country has implemented total mining management of fluorite mines. The total control of fluorite mining in 2011 was 10.5 million tons (ore), a decrease of 4.5% from 2010.

The above-mentioned manager told the reporter that the total amount limit will decrease year by year. “The construction scale of 100,000 tons of Xinhui Mining is almost impossible. This amounts to 1% of the total annual amount, and the country cannot grant such a large amount to a company. Mining scale."

In response, the above-mentioned sources of Yongtai Technology Securities Office told the reporter that the estimated resource reserves disclosed in the announcement may be different from the actual amount of exploitation.

Speculation fluorite?

If a fluorinated industrial enterprise acquires a fluorite mine for the purpose of integrating the industrial chain, Tianye Tonglian, which has acquired fluorite at a premium of 18 times, has its main business made for equipment and has nothing to do with the fluorinated workers.

Hu Jing, a representative of Tianye Tonglian Securities, told reporters that such a generous investment was personally reviewed by the chairman of the board. “We believe that the fluorine chemical industry is now facing a good development environment and opportunities. Recovering minerals in the upper reaches can bring new profit growth to the company. point."

In fact, fluorite is a kind of rare-earth resource. China began to protect fluorite as a strategic resource in 1999. In 2000, it began to implement an export quota licensing system for fluorite, and it has continued to this day.

A chemical industry researcher who just attended the fourth “fluorite-fluorine worker” industry development summit forum in Hainan told reporters that the current national framework for the integration of fluorite resources has been set, and the fluorite resources will be substantially promoted next year. Integration.

And many of the funds like Tianye Tonglian are aimed at this investment opportunity.

The above-mentioned manager believes that the shortage of raw materials for upstream fluorinated workers will drive up prices, and competition for fluorite mines will become increasingly fierce. When waiting for the integration of resources next year, such companies can sell their hands at a good price.