【Anode Materials】Rising Costs Impact: Significant Decline in Anode Material Profits in Q1

 The rapid growth of the EV and energy storage industries is boosting demand for high-performance lithium batteries, driving the market for quality petroleum coke and synthetic graphite. The quality and particle size of calcined petroleum coke directly affect synthetic graphite performance, especially in anode production.

【Anode Materials】Rising Costs Impact: Significant Decline in Anode Material Profits in Q1

Leading anode material enterprises have successively released their financial reports for the first quarter of 2026. Among them, some companies experienced significant declines in net profits, mainly affected by rising raw material costs and graphitization processing fees, while anode material market prices failed to effectively pass on the increased costs.

I. Strong Resistance to Price Increases in the Anode Material Market

Figure 1 Price Trend of Artificial Graphite Anode Materials (Yuan/Ton)

Source: Oilchem

Prices of artificial graphite anode materials have remained stable since the beginning of 2026. Mainstream enterprises and downstream battery manufacturers continue price negotiations and competition, while pressure from downstream markets to suppress anode prices remains the dominant trend. As a result, artificial graphite anode prices have struggled to rise in line with raw material cost increases.

Mainstream prices for mid-range products are 25,500-34,500 yuan/ton, high-end power battery products are 31,500-36,500 yuan/ton, digital products are 45,000-65,000 yuan/ton, and low-end products are mainly priced at 19,500-25,500 yuan/ton.

Meanwhile, demand in the anode material market has improved. Demand from the power battery sector is recovering, installations of power batteries and production and sales of new energy vehicles are increasing, and orders from the energy storage market continue to rise. The anode material market is currently facing a situation of "increased production without increased revenue."

II. Decline in Anode Material Production Profits

Figure 2 Production Profit of Mid-Range Artificial Graphite Anode Materials (Yuan/Ton)

 Source: Oilchem

In April, the production profit of mid-range artificial graphite anode materials was 773.32 yuan/ton, a decrease of 391.6 yuan/ton month-on-month, down 33.62%, with a gross profit margin of 2.71%.

Among them, the outsourced graphitization processing market price was 9,180 yuan/ton; needle coke (oil-based green coke) market price was 6,105 yuan/ton; low-sulfur petroleum coke market price was 4,402 yuan/ton; and coating asphalt was 5,500 yuan/ton. Production costs reached 27,726.68 yuan/ton, an increase of 391 yuan/ton month-on-month.

Under such circumstances, mainstream anode material market prices have not increased accordingly, resulting in an overall decline in production profits. It is expected that in May, the theoretical production profit of mid-range artificial graphite anode materials will further decline to the level of 150-200 yuan/ton.

III. Analysis of Q1 Financial Reports of Leading Anode Material Enterprises

Table 1: Financial Reports of Leading Anode Material Enterprises

Source: Compiled from Public Data

Leading anode material enterprises have successively announced their Q1 financial reports for this year. Through analysis, revenue from anode materials in Q1 increased year-on-year across the board, indicating continuous growth in production scale and sales volume, with supply and demand conditions improving steadily.

However, there were differences in net profit performance among companies. BTR, Zhongke, and Shanshan Technology all recorded year-on-year declines, while Shanshan, Putailai, and Xiangfenghua achieved year-on-year growth.

The year-on-year decline in gross profit margins during Q1 was mainly due to pressure from the cost side. On one hand, prices of key upstream raw materials such as petroleum coke increased year-on-year, raising unit production costs. On the other hand, in order to meet continuously growing downstream order demand, anode manufacturers purchased outsourced graphitization processing services, leading to higher comprehensive operating costs. At the same time, there is a certain lag in transmitting raw material price fluctuations to product selling prices. Multiple factors together resulted in a decline in gross profit margins during the current period.

By comparison, the measures adopted by anode material enterprises for cost reduction and efficiency improvement are generally consistent. The most important common point is optimizing product structures and creating differentiated products to enhance competitiveness. Against the backdrop of severe industry competition, only by following a differentiated development path and focusing on improving product performance can companies achieve long-term sustainable growth.

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