Source | Ma Ye Finance
Walking fast is not a skill, walking steadily is a skill.
With the approach of the bid opening of science and technology innovation board, as of May 3 1 day, * * has accepted the application materials submitted by 1 12 enterprises, among which 94 enterprises have been inquired.
Among the companies surveyed, a company named Ningbo Bai Rong New Energy (hereinafter referred to as Ningbo Bai Rong) is in the forefront. Recently, I have replied to the second round of inquiries from the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
The Chief Science and Technology Officer pointed out that as the first batch of scientific and technological innovation board declaration enterprises and new energy producers of lithium battery cathode materials, there are many well-known enterprises among the top five customers of Ningbo Bai Rong, such as Contemporary Ampere Technology Co., Ltd. and BYD.
However, it is such a science and technology enterprise with its own aura that in the first round of inquiries, it was repeatedly asked 60 questions by the Shanghai Stock Exchange, becoming the company with the most questions among the first batch of accepted enterprises; In the second round of inquiry, the Shanghai Stock Exchange again questioned Bai Rong's "core technology", "top five customers", "operating cash flow" and "notes receivable".
When it comes to Bai Rong, we have to mention Dang Sheng Science and Technology (300073. SZ), A-share listed company. This company is not only a competitor of Ningbo Bai Rong, but also has an indissoluble bond with Bai Houshan, the chairman of the company. It is no exaggeration to say that Ningbo Bai Rong was born out of Dang Sheng Science and Technology.
1992, Beijing Institute of Mining and Metallurgy established a research group with Bai Houshan as the team leader, which was also the predecessor of Dang Sheng Science and Technology. 200 1, Dang Sheng successfully reorganized its science and technology and began to enter the cathode material industry of lithium batteries. Under the leadership of Bai Houshan, Dang Sheng science and technology developed day by day, and successfully landed on the Growth Enterprise Market on April 20 10, becoming the first listed company in the cathode material industry of lithium batteries.
According to the data of Cai Dong choice, Bai Houshan held 5.05 million shares of Dang Sheng Science and Technology at the time of initial listing, ranking the fourth largest shareholder, and later increased its holdings, holding more than 6,543,800 shares. But with the decline of the company's performance, Baihoushan's position in the company has also been challenged.
On July 20 13, Bai Houshan submitted his resignation application to Dang Sheng Science and Technology, left the company where he had worked for more than 20 years, and then cashed in his shares one after another.
An insider revealed to the Chief Science and Technology Officer that due to some personnel reasons, Baihoushan was frustrated and left Dang Sheng Science and Technology.
Not long after, Baihoushan disappeared among the top ten shareholders of Dang Sheng Science and Technology. However, in the third quarter of 20 14, that is, one year after his resignation, Baihoushan gradually operated a new platform. Through capital increase and equity judicial auction, the control of gold and lithium batteries was obtained.
It is reported that Jinhe New Materials, the former major shareholder of Jinhe Lithium Battery, is mainly engaged in the conventional products and precursors business of lithium battery cathode materials. 20 16 10 due to a dispute over overdue debts, Jinhe Xincai held a judicial auction in the minority equity court.
And this company, named Jin and Li, is the predecessor of Ningbo.
After fully receiving Ningbo Jinli battery, Baihoushan became familiar with the capital operation of Bai Rong, Ningbo, relying on the operating experience and industry resources of Dang Sheng Science and Technology. According to the data of Sky Eye Survey, in the short period of four years before applying for science and technology innovation board, Bai Rong in Ningbo conducted four rounds of financing, including Sunshine Property Insurance and changjiang securities.
At the same time, the company's performance is also constantly improving. From 20 16 to 20 18, the operating income of Ningbo Bai Rong was about 890 million yuan,188 million yuan and 3.04 billion yuan respectively, with growth rates exceeding 50%.
In addition to the brilliant performance level and the blessing of many capitals, Bai Houshan must be more gratified that the Dang Sheng science and technology "old man" who once fought side by side with himself is also willing to surround himself.
According to the prospectus, Zhang Huiqing, the former director of Dang Sheng Science and Technology, Jiang Hui, the former director of human resources, and Liu Dexian, the former marketing engineer, are all employees of Ningbo Bai Rong.
Job hopping in the same industry has also attracted the attention of the Shanghai Stock Exchange. In the second inquiry, it was stated that "Ningbo Bai Rong owns the assets, technology and R&D achievements of Dang Sheng Science and Technology". Bai Rong said that the company's product positioning, development progress and product structure are significantly different from those of Dang Sheng Science and Technology.
When it comes to technology, it seems that Bai Rong in Ningbo is not generous in investment.
From 20 16 to 20 18, the R&D expenses of Ningbo Bai Rong were RMB 32 million, RMB 77 million and RMB 0.120 million respectively, accounting for 3.59%, 4. 10% and 3.94% of the operating income respectively. In the same period, the proportion of R&D personnel in the total number of employees in the company has also decreased year by year, and the proportion of 20 18 years is lower than the average level of the same industry. In this regard, Bai Rong said that this is due to the rapid expansion of the company's scale.
However, to the chief science and technology officer's curiosity, there are actually two Koreans in the core team of Ningbo Bai Rong: Li Congxi and Liu Xianglie. In addition, it also owns JS Co., Ltd. and Korea EMT Co., Ltd.
Of course, the technical team of China and South Korea also caught the attention of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, and asked whether the core technicians of Ningbo Bai Rong signed a non-competition agreement with the previous employer, whether the main achievements involved service inventions, and whether there was any infringement on the legitimate rights and interests of the issuer or a third party.
Bai Rong in Ningbo said in a reply that "Li Congxi's R&D work in the company is quite different from that in the Korean company due to the differences in market environment and technical route between China and South Korea, so there is no violation of the legitimate rights and interests of third parties", while another core technician "Liu Xianglie is mainly engaged in R&D management in the company and has not formed a job invention".
Since the technical differences between the two countries are so great, can hiring Korean personnel with high salaries really have substantial results? More interestingly, Ningbo Bai Rong also suggested in the prospectus that in the future, it may face the risk of core technology leakage and technical personnel loss caused by industry competition.
Regarding who this risk was raised to, the Chief Science and Technology Officer contacted the relevant personnel in Bai Rong, Ningbo, but as of press time, he did not receive a reply.
Relying on large customers, 654.38+0.7 billion yuan supported the profits receivable.
According to the prospectus, the accounts receivable of major customers in Bai Rong, Ningbo are relatively large, and there is a certain correlation.
According to the data, from 20 16 to 20 18, the net profit of Ningbo Bai Rong was about 5.56 million yuan, 27.23 million yuan and 2 10/00000 yuan respectively, which was 38 times higher in three years. At the same time, the company's balance of accounts receivable and notes receivable is also rising, which are about 330 million yuan, 800 million yuan,11400,000 yuan and 97.99 million yuan,1660,000 yuan and 672 million yuan respectively. With such data, it is hard to say whether performance contributes to profits or accounts receivable supports profits.
In addition, the Chief Science and Technology Officer noticed that in the three years from 20 16, the largest customer of Ningbo Bai Rong was Tianjin Li Shen Battery Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Tianjin Li Shen), and the annual sales revenue of this company accounted for more than 20% of the current income of Ningbo Bai Rong. In addition, the bicycle power of the company's second largest customer on 20 18 also accounts for 12.07%.
In other words, the two together contribute one-third of Ningbo Rong's revenue, which is literally the "armor" of the company's performance.
But "armor" is also the "soft rib" of Ningbo Bai Rong. In the inquiry, Shanghai Stock Exchange noted that "Tianjin Li Shen is not only the largest customer of Ningbo Bai Rong, but also the second largest supplier of company 20 17. In addition, the accounts receivable of Tianjin Li Shen are still partially overdue. " Therefore, I hope that the company and sponsors will explain this.
In the reply, Bai Rong said that the above problems do exist in order to cope with the rising pressure of raw materials. In addition, Tianjin Li Shen also adopted the method of offsetting the company's receivables in the process of selling raw materials to the company. During the period from 20 16 to 20 18, the balance of accounts receivable from Ningbo Bairong to Tianjin Li Shen was13.53 million yuan, 220 million yuan and1700,000 yuan respectively, and the amount of bad debt reserve was about 680,000 yuan and1kloc-0 respectively.
In other words, Ningbo Bai Rong buys raw materials from Li Shen, Tianjin, processes them and sells them to Li Shen, Tianjin to earn processing fees. The other party not only delayed the payment, but also deducted the material fee. It can be seen that Bai Rong in Ningbo has a weak voice in both upstream and downstream. If Li Shen is a state-owned holding company, there is still hope. The risk of BIC power, the second largest customer, may be a bit high.
According to the prospectus, the balance of accounts receivable of Ningbo Bai Rong Bicycle Power in 20 18 is about 2160,000 yuan, and the post-payment ratio is only 44.96%; In the same year, Bicycle Power still failed to honor a commercial acceptance bill with the amount of180,000 yuan to Bai Rong, Ningbo. Therefore, the Shanghai Stock Exchange questioned and asked accountants to "check whether there is a situation of using bills receivable without real trade background for financing".
In the second inquiry, the Shanghai Stock Exchange noted that "Changxin Technology (300088. SZ) On 20 18, provision for impairment was made for the long-term equity investment of bicycle power. " The annual report of Changxin Technology shows that the net profit of bicycle power decreased from 550 million yuan in 20 17 to 77.75 million yuan in 20 18.
Bai Rong, Ningbo is not so worried about the deterioration of the performance of the first debtor. In its reply, it said that "the operating income of Bicycle Power 20 18 has maintained growth and has been profitable, and it is still repaying in the process of cooperation with the company. Therefore, the company makes provision for bad debts for accounts receivable that are not listed as a single major project of Bicycle Power Company.
However, according to the survey, from 20 16 to 20 18, Bai Rong held eight sessions. Except for one non-competition dispute, the other seven were contract disputes, most of which were due to the arrears of payment by downstream enterprises.
On the one hand, the surge in accounts receivable and notes receivable has increased corporate profits; On the other hand, this obviously puts some pressure on the company's capital chain. Therefore, in this science and technology innovation board fundraising, Bai Rong, Ningbo needs to raise 400 million yuan to supplement the working capital in addition to establishing the 2025 power lithium battery material comprehensive base (Phase I).
According to the prospectus, from 20 16 to 20 18, the net cash flow from operating activities of Ningbo Bai Rong was negative, which were-62.87 million yuan,-638 million yuan and-543 million yuan respectively. Compared with companies in the same industry, only Ningbo Bai Rong has a negative cash flow for three consecutive years. In response, Bai Rong explained that "the difference in cash flow is mainly due to factors such as profit scale and different development stages".
At the same time, the net cash flow of investment activities in Ningbo Bai Rong is also negative all the year round. This means that the company needs a lot of financing to maintain the balance of cash flow.
The Chief Science and Technology Officer found that in recent years, the main financing channel of Ningbo Bai Rong is not borrowing, but "absorbing the cash received from investment", that is, the funds raised by issuing stocks and bonds.
It is such a company that walks a tightrope with financial data. From 2065438 to June 2008, the post-investment valuation of financing led by Jinshajiang Capital reached 10 1 100 million yuan, making it a "unicorn" in the field of lithium batteries. At present, the market value of Dang Sheng science and technology is only about10 billion yuan.
In this regard, some people in the industry do not understand this billion-dollar unicorn. A person in the battery industry said to the Chief Science and Technology Officer: "Ningbo Bai Rong takes the technical route from nickel sulfate to ternary precursor and then to ternary cathode material, which is in the middle of the whole industry and has no advantage in pricing power and technology."
According to the insider, from the perspective of Bai Rong, Ningbo, it will fall into the competition system of Xiamen Tungsten, Dang Sheng Science and Technology, Shanshan Energy and Wanxiang New Energy. According to the current strength of Ningbo Bai Rong, it is impossible to form scale effect and compete with powerful peers.
Because during the period from 20 16 to 20 18, the gross profit margin of ternary cathode materials accounting for more than 80% of revenue was only 13.95%, 15.74% and 18.2 1% respectively. In the same period, the industry average reached 16.37%, 19.3% and 15.98% respectively. It can be seen that the gross profit margin of its main products was lower than the industry average in 20 16 and 20 17, and only in 20 18 did it catch up. From this perspective, "the products of Bai Rong Science and Technology do not have much advantage in the industry".
In addition to Dang Sheng Science and Technology, Shanshan Co., Ltd. is also a comparable company in the same industry listed in Bai Rong, Ningbo. Shanshan Energy, a subsidiary of Shanshan Co., Ltd., has higher production capacity in ternary cathode and cathode materials than Bai Rong, Ningbo. In 20 18, Shanshan shares far exceeded Ningbo Bai Rong with assets of 23.4 billion yuan, revenue of 8.85 billion yuan and profit of1200 million yuan, and its total market value was only13.4 billion yuan.
On the issue of valuation, the Chief Science and Technology Officer contacted Ningbo Bai Rong several times and sent a verification email. The other party said that it would inform the leader to reply by email, but no reply was received as of press time.
In the prospectus, Ningbo Bai Rong repeatedly mentioned that its products are "leading in the world", "taking the lead in introducing", "the world's first echelon of ternary cathode materials" and "the world's first application" ... The Shanghai Stock Exchange also questioned these descriptions and asked the company to "judge whether the relevant statements are true, accurate and objective in combination with the technical development of sub-sectors".
Of course, the company will not slap itself in the face, and it must be stated in the reply that these descriptions are appropriate. What kind of immortal products are produced in Bai Rong, Ningbo, which can make capital look at each other with special respect and have the courage to sprint the scientific and technological innovation board?
In the prospectus, Ningbo Bai Rong said that its main products are ternary cathode materials and precursors. The simple understanding is that the material of the positive electrode of the battery consists of three substances. Based on the advantages of high energy density and good cycle performance, ternary cathode materials have become an important development direction of cathode materials for lithium batteries. Lithium battery is one of the important components of popular electric vehicles.
But now there are more and more manufacturers of lithium batteries. Why does Ningbo Bai Rong say he is ahead?
Bai Rong in Ningbo described in the prospectus and reply that the demand for NCM8 1 1 in the domestic market is relatively strong, but due to insufficient supply of production capacity, the market is in short supply. In addition to Bai Rong Science and Technology, only a few domestic manufacturers, such as Dang Sheng Science and Technology, Tianjin Ba Maw and Shanshan Energy, have achieved mass production of NCM8 1 1. Just because it is not an ordinary ternary cathode material, it is not comparable to similar listed companies, and the valuation is of course different.
Is NCM8 1 1 really so powerful? Indeed, this product has a comparative advantage over traditional products in battery cost and cruising range. However, the chief science and technology officer found that the biggest problem of high nickel ternary battery is the safety hazard after consulting the information.
Dr. Tang from China University of Science and Technology mentioned in his paper that the poor cycling performance, safety performance and storage performance of high nickel ternary materials hindered the large-scale application of ternary materials in the field of power batteries. In addition, the thermal decomposition temperature of cathode materials is often the key factor affecting the thermal runaway of batteries. The higher the nickel content, the worse the thermal stability. Compared with other materials, NCM8 1 1 has poor thermal stability, accompanied by a sharp increase in heat release.
In addition, in addition to the influence of heat, the volume of high nickel ternary materials changes greatly during the cycle, so it is more likely to cause material failure due to microcrack propagation.
In recent years, the phenomenon of spontaneous combustion or explosion of electric vehicles such as Tesla has emerged one after another. According to media statistics, there have been many spontaneous combustion incidents in Tesla Model S in the past three months. In addition, LG Chem and SKI, two major battery giants in South Korea, will postpone the plan of mass production of high-nickel NCM8 1 1 batteries.
Do you think that NCM8 1 1 can really help Bai Rong in Ningbo embark on the glorious road in the future? In addition to security issues, perhaps the first thing the boss should think about is how to deal with the 654.38+07 billion accounts receivable.