Satellite chemistry sees double growth in revenue and profit.

On March 24, Satellite Chemical announced its 2024 annual report, revealing that the company achieved operating revenue of RMB 45.648 billion last year, a year-on-year increase of 10.03%; net profit attributable to shareholders reached RMB 6.072 billion, up 26.77% year on year; basic earnings per share were RMB 1.80 per share; and a cash dividend of RMB 5 per 10 shares is proposed (tax included), with a total cash dividend amounting to RMB 1.684 billion.

Based on the text, here is the translation: By season, satellite chemistry revenue and net profit growth trends are in a 4-period growth cycle. In the fourth quarter, revenue reached 133.73 billion yuan, with a 41.7% year-over-year growth. Net profit reached 23.79 billion yuan, with a 75.1% year-over-year growth.

The chemical industry, which Satellite Chemical is part of, performed poorly overall in 2024. Non-increasing revenue and continuously decreasing profits are a direct reflection of the severe development situation facing the industry. According to the China Petroleum and Chemical Industrial Association, in 2024, the chemical sector achieved a sales revenue of 9.76 trillion yuan, up 4.6% year-on-year; profit amounted to 4544.4 billion yuan, down 6.4% year-on-year.

Low-end surplus and high-end shortage of supply chain structure lead to intensification of the push-pull effect, prompting the industry to intensify self-innovation, cultivate and release the new quality production power.

Satellite Chemical has always placed great emphasis on technological innovation, with research and development expenditures nearing 10 billion yuan in recent years (an investment of 1.75 billion yuan in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 7.7%). By the end of 2024, the total number of R&D personnel in the company reached 1,275, including 255 individuals with doctoral and master's degrees, achieving a year-on-year doubling in number.

Currently, satellite chemistry has established a global "1+N" new material research and innovation platform, with innovative achievements emerging constantly. According to the 2024 annual report, satellite chemistry achieved a total of over 500 patents globally last year, with over 100 patents in catalysts and new materials. The company's research成果 in metal-organic functional materials catalysts, low-ammonia click hydrazine catalysts, polyethylene elastomers, high-performance polyethylene, polyacrylic acid resins, and customizable high-absorbency resins have reached industrial transformation conditions, breaking through technical bottlenecks and addressing the current situation where high-end new materials are highly dependent on imports.

In the previous year, satellite chemistry drove industrialization and raised the industry's competitiveness.

During the reporting period, the company completed an investment to build an annual 100,000-ton ethyl amine plant, further completing the downstream chemical products layout for epoxyethane, realizing a development matrix for epoxyethane derivatives, and forming a production capacity matrix of 1.82 million tons of ethylene glycol, 500,000 tons of polyether monomers and surfactants, 200,000 tons of ethyl amine, and 150,000 tons of carbonates. The market share of these products has steadily increased, with ethyl amine and polyether monomers actually ranked first and second in national production, with market shares exceeding 20% each, significantly enhancing market influence.

During the reporting period, Satellite Chemical's integrated new materials and new energy project (annual production of 800,000 tons of polyols) in the Pinghu base was successfully started up on the first attempt, connecting the downstream high-value utilization of propylene and forming a closed-loop industrial chain with acrylic acid, further consolidating Satellite's influence in the acrylic acid market.

Additionally, through technological innovation, the company has achieved a premium in product quality for some of its offerings. During the reporting period, the gross margin of satellite chemicals' functional chemicals and polymer new materials maintained good growth year-on-year; hydrogen officially commenced external sales, with sales revenue increasing by 42.5% year-on-year; new energy materials experienced rapid development, with operating revenue growing strongly by 80.77% year-on-year. The operating revenue of polymer new materials surpassed 10 billion yuan.

As an industry leader, Satellite Chemical is increasing its overseas expansion. Last year, the company established Satellite Global to concentrate resources and accelerate the development of international markets. Currently, the export volumes of its acrylic acid and esters, polyether monomers, ethanolamine, and superabsorbent resins rank among the top in China, and it has established cooperative relationships with customers in over 160 countries and regions worldwide.