Surged over 60% quarter-on-quarter! Wanhua Chemical expects significant first-half performance growth

On the evening of July 6, Wanhua Chemical (600309) released its 2026 semi-annual performance forecast. The company's first-half performance saw a significant rebound, thoroughly reversing the 2025 trend of revenue growth without profit growth. Data shows that the company expects first-half net profit to reach 9.8 to 10.4 billion RMB, a year-on-year increase of 60.05% to 69.85%; net profit after non-recurring items was 9.6 to 10.2 billion RMB, a year-on-year increase of 53.75% to 63.36%, with semi-annual profitability poised to break the 100 billion RMB mark.

Quarterly Elasticity: Significant Q2 Sequential Improvement, Delivering High Growth

Looking at single quarters, the company's Q2 performance was particularly outstanding.

Combined with Q1 revenue of 54.052 billion RMB and net profit of 3.718 billion RMB, its Q2 net profit attributable to shareholders is estimated to reach 6.082 to 6.682 billion RMB, a sequential increase of over 60%, marking a new high for single-quarter profitability in recent years.

Cyclical Comparison: 2025 Ended on a Low Note, 2026 Shows Strong Recovery

This significant performance rebound forms a sharp contrast with the sluggish market of the first half of 2025.

In the first half of 2025, affected by low chemical product prices and high raw material costs, Wanhua Chemical's net profit was only 6.123 billion RMB, a year-on-year decline of 25.10%.

Throughout 2025, the company's revenue was 203.235 billion RMB, a year-on-year increase of 11.62%, but net profit and net profit after non-recurring items decreased by 3.88% and 9.10% respectively, a typical case of increased revenue without increased profit, indicating weak profitability quality.

Entering 2026, Wanhua Chemical's overall operating conditions have seen significant improvement, with cash flow quality improving simultaneously. Q1 operating cash flow reached 6.857 billion RMB, a surge of over 10 times year-on-year, greatly enhancing operational resilience.

External Logic: Geopolitics + Supply and Demand Dual Drive, Product Prosperity on the Upswing

Regarding this significant profit increase, the company cited multiple core reasons.

First is the favorable external industry environment, driving product price increases and profit enhancement. In the first half of 2026, geopolitical tensions and regional conflicts drove up global chemical raw material prices. Coupled with adjustments in market supply and demand, prices of various chemical products continued to rise.

Among core products, the average price of pure MDI in the first half was about 20,000 RMB/ton, up 8% from the full year of 2025;聚合 MDI rebounded by over 40% from its low at the beginning of the year; the average price of TDI was 15,800 RMB/ton, an increase of 17%. At the same time, Europe plans to shut down 700,000 to 1.1 million tons of MDI capacity, tightening overseas supply and creating excellent conditions for the company's export business.

Internal Logic: Technical Transformation + Management Optimization, Achieving Cost Reduction and Efficiency Improvement

Secondly, internal cost reduction and efficiency measures have taken effect. In January of this year, the company completed the feedstock diversification modification of the Ethylene Phase I unit, significantly strengthening the cost competitiveness of the petrochemical sector and effectively compressing production energy consumption and raw material costs.

At the same time, refined management continues to empower efficiency gains. Centering on the core deployment of the "Quality Improvement and Efficiency Enhancement Year," Wanhua Chemical has continuously improved operational efficiency through management optimization and technological innovation, while broadening operational procurement channels and perfecting the supply chain system to consolidate cost advantages across the entire industrial chain and further expand profit margins.

Capacity Logic: Large Capital Expenditure, Consolidating the Foundation for Long-term Growth

While performance rebounds, Wanhua Chemical continues to accelerate the pace of capacity expansion and industrial upgrading. In 2026, the company plans a total investment of 27.3 billion RMB for new projects, with the highest investment in emerging materials projects at 11.05 billion RMB. Polyurethane and supporting facilities, petrochemical industrial chain, and fine chemical projects are planned to invest 3.46 billion RMB, 4.55 billion RMB, and 3.44 billion RMB respectively.

In terms of capacity, the company's global MDI capacity has expanded from 3.8 million tons to 4.5 million tons. Several key projects, such as the polyether capacity at the Penglai Industrial Park, Yantai Ethylene Phase II, and Fujian TDI Phase II, have been put into operation one after another, providing solid support for the expansion of production and sales scale.

Technical Logic: New Materials Blooming in Multiple Areas, Opening a Second Growth Curve

In terms of technology R&D, the company continues to achieve high-end breakthroughs and technological iterations. The eighth-generation MDI technology was successfully implemented, the VA full industrial chain and MS units were successfully put into operation, and XLPE, menthol, and other units achieved successful one-time start-up and stable operation.

Results in the new energy materials field are fruitful. The fourth-generation lithium iron phosphate product has achieved mass production and connected with customers; key performance indicators of the fifth-generation product lead the industry, gaining recognition from top-tier customers. Sodium-ion battery products have completed third-generation finalization and industrialization, successfully passing client validation. Continuous graphitization and silicon-carbon anode materials have achieved sales breakthroughs, with market recognition continuously improving.