Energy storage demand boosts; lithium battery companies’ semiannual reports are turning optimistic one after another

Recently, multiple listed companies related to lithium batteries—including Zangge Mining, Yahua Group, Lianhong Xinke, and others—have released their 2026 first-half performance forecasts. Most have achieved net profit growth on a year-on-year doubling basis.

Zangge Mining expects to achieve attributable net profit of RMB 3.55 billion to RMB 3.75 billion in the first half of the year, up 97.20% to 108.31% year-on-year. During the reporting period, the selling price of battery-grade lithium carbonate rose significantly compared with the same period last year, boosting the operating performance of the battery-grade lithium carbonate segment markedly.

Yahua Group expects to achieve attributable net profit of RMB 1.1 billion to RMB 1.3 billion in the first half of the year, up 710.17% to 857.48% year-on-year. During the reporting period, the company’s lithium salt product sales volume and average selling price increased in parallel, and main business revenue rose significantly.

Ronbo Technology, meanwhile, expects to achieve attributable net profit of RMB 100 million to RMB 120 million in the first half of the year, turning from loss to profit year-on-year.

In the first half of the year, the lithium battery industry chain delivered strong performance across the board, mainly due to a sharp year-on-year increase in battery-grade lithium carbonate prices. Data show that in May this year, the Dalian Exchange’s battery-grade lithium carbonate futures (as traded on the Dalian Commodity Exchange) briefly surged to 200,000 CNY per ton. After that, it retreated to some extent, but the average price in the second quarter still reached 177,000 CNY per ton, higher than the first-quarter average and also significantly higher than the same period last year. Driven by battery-grade lithium carbonate, prices across materials in both the upstream and downstream of the lithium battery industry rose, including electrolytes and cathode materials; separator and copper/aluminum foil processing fees also increased slightly.

The sharp rise in battery-grade lithium carbonate prices was mainly attributable to the surge in energy storage demand. Data show that in the first quarter of 2026, China’s shipments of energy storage lithium batteries were 225GWh, up 139% year-on-year, and the share of energy storage lithium batteries rose significantly to 42.86%. Among them, exports contributed a large incremental increase. Customs data show that in the first quarter this year, exports of lithium-ion batteries—core components for energy storage and new energy vehicles—grew by more than 50% year-on-year.

West China Securities said that global resonance in mobile and energy storage development is driving lithium battery demand to keep rising. Against the backdrop of an increasingly tight supply-and-demand situation, prices and profitability across various links are expected to be continuously repaired. With the arrival of the upcoming peak season, lithium battery demand may move to a new level, and shipments and prices across all links are expected to achieve “double-up” growth, leading to clear earnings growth.

Guangfa Securities also said that the lithium battery industry is at a critical point of supply-demand balance. Current estimates indicate total lithium battery demand in 2026 will be 2,728.5GWh, within a range where supply and demand are relatively matched. If the demand growth rate in the second half of the year exceeds expectations, the supply side will enter a shortage state.

Central Plains Securities pointed out that, compared with 2025, overall prices across the lithium battery industry chain are expected to rise, with battery-grade lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide prices expected to see relatively large full-year increases. In 2026, lithium battery demand will continue to grow. The company expects the sector’s revenue to keep increasing throughout the year, with faster growth rates; sector net profits are expected to maintain high growth, but performance among targets in sub-sectors will continue to diverge.

According to statistics compiled by Securities Times·Data Treasure, as of July 7, 11 lithium battery concept stocks had released their 2026 first-half performance forecasts. Based on the midpoint of the forecast ranges, most companies achieved net profit growth that doubled year-on-year. Among them, Dongfang Shenghong, Hangdian Co., Yahua Group, and Yongtai Technology ranked near the top in growth rate.

Dongfang Shenghong previously said on an investor interaction platform that the company is a globally leading energy and chemical enterprise with vertical integration across the whole industry chain, and has deeply deployed businesses in new energy and new materials. One of the company’s new material products, ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene, can be used as a raw material for lithium battery separators; EC/DMC can be used as the electrolyte solvent for lithium batteries.

Yongtai Technology expects that in the first half of the year, attributable net profit will be RMB 265 million to RMB 330 million, up 350.68% to 461.22% year-on-year. The company’s core lithium battery material products—including lithium hexafluorophosphate, lithium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide, vinylidene carbonate, and electrolyte-related materials—saw both sales volume and pricing increase year-on-year. In addition, the 5,000-ton-per-year VC capacity newly commissioned at the end of 2025 is also steadily ramping up, driving year-on-year growth in earnings.

Since the second quarter, financing funds have added positions in multiple lithium battery concept stocks. According to Data Treasure, as of July 6, among the above-mentioned stocks, 6 had net financing purchases exceeding RMB 100 million. Qinghai Salt Lake, Hangdian Co., and EVE Energy led the list in net financing purchases, at RMB 845 million, RMB 807 million, and RMB 378 million, respectively.

Hangdian Co. previously announced an investment of about RMB 5.0 billion to build an ultrathin copper foil project for lithium batteries for new energy vehicles. The 2025 annual report shows that its lithium battery copper foil products have been introduced into the supply-chain system of domestic mainstream new energy energy-storage enterprises.

Qinghai Salt Lake expects attributable net profit of RMB 6.0 billion to RMB 6.3 billion in the first half of the year, up 131.38% to 142.95% year-on-year. During the reporting period, the company’s production of battery-grade lithium carbonate was about 4.94 million tons, and its sales were about 3.91 million tons.