Titanium Dioxide Prices Soar! LB Group Raises Prices Abroad by $100/ton, Boosting Sector by 3%, GPRO Investment Group Industries Leads Rally with a Stock Market Closure

In the context of the current economic situation, some industry leaders have actively taken measures to stabilize the supply chain and ensure the stability of the supply chain and the rationality of prices. In such an environment, LB Group, as a leading enterprise in the titanium dioxide industry, issued a price adjustment notice to overseas markets at the beginning of the second half of the year with a precise grasp of the market trend and a positive response to the appreciation trend of the renminbi. A number of enterprises in the same industry also have the intention to follow up and issue corresponding price adjustment letters. This series of actions, coupled with the market's optimistic expectations of the traditional peak season demand, jointly promoted the strong performance of the titanium dioxide plate. As of 10:37 on September 3, the overall increase of titanium dioxide plate reached 3.01%, of which, the opening of titanium dioxide concept stocks across the board, GPRO Investment Holding Group is also up by the limit. Huiyun Titanium Industry, Kuncai Technology, Middle-core Titanium white and LB Group led the growth.

The price adjustment letter issued by LB Group on September 2 clearly states that in view of the current market conditions, the company has decided to adjust the sales price of various types of titanium dioxide, and increase the price by $100 / ton for international customers from September 2, 2024. In terms of the spot market, SMM's latest quotation shows that on September 2, the quotation range of rutile titanium dioxide is 15,000 to 16,200 yuan/ton, and the average price is 15,600 yuan/ton, which is the same as the previous trading day. The average price has remained stable since June 11. LB Group's price adjustment measures are expected to provide certain support for titanium dioxide prices, especially in the end of overseas summer repair, enterprises have announced price increases and the traditional peak season of "gold nine silver ten" to boost market confidence.

In the research report released by Guohai Securities on August 30, LB Group was given a buy rating, mainly based on the following points: First, titanium dioxide production and sales reached a record high, and the performance increased significantly in the first half of 2024; Second, the titanium concentrate market boom continues, optimistic about the company's annual performance growth; Third, the company has a leading position in the global titanium industry, and the controlling shareholders' commitment not to reduce their holdings has further enhanced market confidence. At the same time, the research report also pointed out risk factors such as macroeconomic fluctuations, less than expected production capacity, product price fluctuations, raw material price fluctuations, and future demand declines.

Sinolink Securities research report in-depth analysis of titanium ore as the starting point of titanium industry chain resource attributes, pointing out that ilmenite and rutile are the main titanium ore varieties. According to USGS data, global ilmenite and rutile reserves have declined after reaching a historical peak in 2017-2018, but China, as a large country of ilmenite reserves, accounts for 30.4%. In terms of rutile, Australia's reserves account for 63.6%. Titanium dioxide demand is closely related to the growth of the global residential, commercial construction and packaging markets, and in the long term, titanium dioxide demand will keep pace with global GDP growth. According to USGS data, the global titanium dioxide production capacity in 2023 is about 9.8 million tons, and China's production capacity accounts for 56%. Sinolink Securities expects that the global titanium ore supply will be slightly lower than the demand in 2024-2026, so the titanium concentrate price is expected to remain high.

It is reported that LB Group issued the "overseas" price increase letter, mainly in order to deal with the impact of the appreciation of the renminbi, to ensure the stability of the value of titanium dioxide products, so as to make the necessary price adjustments.