Fluorine Chemical Weekly Report: Fluorine raw material pricing lowered, refrigerant continued to rise at high levels

Refrigerant: Tight domestic trade quotas support continued high level exploration in the future market

This week, under the continuous fermentation of quota policies, the refrigerant market has continued to be booming in production and sales, with prices of various products increasing by varying degrees. Characteristics of the weekly market: The upstream raw material market has stable production and sales, with prices fluctuating narrowly. Among them, the prices of fluorite powder and hydrofluoric acid have decreased narrowly, resulting in a weakening of the cost pressure on the entire series of refrigerant products. Mainstream refrigerant factories continue to have a mentality of being reluctant to sell and increasing prices, maintaining a load reduction and production reduction. The industry's operating rate is around 50%, and as the Spring Festival holiday approaches, leading enterprises are gradually repairing or maintaining low load production. From a product perspective, refrigerant prices have mainly increased significantly since November 2023, with R143a prices rising from around 20000 yuan/ton to over 50000 yuan/ton, an increase of approximately 171%; Secondly, the price of R125 has increased from around 26000 yuan/ton to 40000 yuan/ton, an increase of about 51%; The prices of other refrigerants have increased by over 15%, and due to the tight supply expectations for the year, they will continue to rise in the future.

Please refer to the "Industry Online VIP Weekly Report - Refrigerant" for detailed analysis of prices, dynamics, and enterprise equipment of the entire industry chain (fluorine raw materials, HCFCs, HFCs, HFO).

Gansu Juhua High Performance Silicone Fluorine New Material Integration Project Officially Starts

On January 28th, the commencement activity of the high-performance silicone fluorine new material integration project of Gansu Juhua New Materials Co., Ltd. was held in Yumen City. It is understood that the total investment of the project is 41.047 billion yuan, and it is planned to build 20000 tons of pentafluoropropane (R245eb), 30000 tons of HCC-240 (R240), 80000 tons of R152a (HFC-152a), 120000 tons of R142b (HCFC-142b) and other facilities.

Details click: Gansu Juhua High Performance Silicone Fluorine New Material Integration Project officially starts construction

Official issuance of quotas for ozone depleting substances and hydrofluorocarbons in 2024

On January 29th, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment issued a notice on the issuance of quotas for the production, use, and import of ozone depleting substances and hydrofluorocarbons for the year 2024. 34 units including Cangzhou Lingang Heji Chemical Co., Ltd. were issued production quotas for hydrofluorocarbons (excluding trifluoromethane) and domestic production quotas for 2024, 8 units including Sinochem Blue Sky Fluorine Materials Co., Ltd. were issued production quotas for trifluoromethane and domestic production quotas for 2024, and 38 units including Kemu San'aifu Fluoride (Changshu) Co., Ltd. were issued import quotas for hydrofluorocarbons for 2024.

The final confirmed version this time is consistent with the previous published version. For exclusive quota interpretation, please click on: HFCs production quota dust settled, which companies have taken the lead?

Fluorinated polymers: loose supply-demand game, downstream on-demand procurement

This week, factories in the fluoropolymer market are producing at low loads, with favorable shipping prices. Downstream demand is flat, and the willingness to hoard goods is weak. There is an urgent need for improvement in domestic and export demand. From the perspective of the industrial chain, the prices of upstream basic raw materials are also under pressure to maintain stability, and the cost side has weak support for downstream; The intermediate monomer raw material products R22 and R142b also face the dilemma of weak cost support and weak downstream demand; Under the negative impact of weak cost support, rapid supply growth, and insufficient short-term demand, downstream TFE series and VDF series fluoropolymers have significant differences in cost and quality among different factories and products, resulting in a significant price difference. Although factories have a promotional mentality, under the market mentality of "buying up but not buying down", the mainstream fluoropolymer prices in the future will continue to compete upstream and downstream, still consolidating at a low level.

It is expected that the net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company in 2023 will be between 900 million yuan and 1.06 billion yuan, a decrease of 1.32 billion yuan to 1.48 billion yuan compared to the same period last year, and a decrease of 55% to 62% year-on-year.

It is expected that after deducting non recurring gains and losses, the net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company for the year 2023 will be RMB 778 million to RMB 938 million, a decrease of RMB 1.386 billion to RMB 1.546 billion compared to the same period last year, and a decrease of 60% to 67% year-on-year.

*Price unit: yuan/ton

Juhua Group stated that this year, the supply shock in the company's main product market has increased, demand is weak, and the contradiction between supply and demand is prominent. The year-on-year decline in product prices has been significant, resulting in a decrease in product gross profit margin and a significant decrease in net profit.

Zhejiang Kesai Fluorine Materials Project is officially put into operation

On January 28th, Zhejiang Kesai New Materials Technology Co., Ltd. opened, marking the official launch of an annual production of 8000 tons of high-performance new materials and high-end equipment projects for 5G communication and semiconductors. The project started construction in January 2022, and all six factories were completed and put into operation in January 2024, passing the review and acceptance. The main products of this project are profiles made of materials such as PTFE, PFA, PEEK, PPS, and complete sets of environmental and semiconductor equipment. Zhejiang Kesai New Materials Technology Co., Ltd. is one of the earliest enterprises in China to engage in the research and development, production, and sales of fluoroplastic products. It is a holding subsidiary of Shenzhen Wote New Materials Co., Ltd., a listed company.