Ganfeng Lithium Reports Strong H1 2026: Revenue Up 175.75%, Net Profit Turns Positive
TREE NEWS reports: Ganfeng Lithium, a global leader in lithium ecosystem, released its 2026 interim report on August 28, showing a dramatic turnaround. The company’s H1 revenue reached RMB 23.097 billion, up 175.75% year-on-year, while net profit attributable to shareholders hit RMB 4.257 billion, compared to a loss of RMB 531 million in the same period last year. Non-GAAP net profit surged 521.56% to RMB 3.848 billion, with basic EPS of RMB 2.04 and weighted average ROE of 9.09%.
The impressive results were driven by two key factors: a nearly 200% surge in lithium series product revenue to RMB 14.197 billion, and a 163.22% jump in lithium battery revenue to RMB 7.831 billion. The gross margin for lithium compounds improved dramatically to 42.44%, up from 8.36% a year earlier, becoming the core driver of profitability improvement.
Market Impact: Lithium Price Rebound and Volume Growth
The lithium price cycle played a pivotal role in Ganfeng’s performance. During H1 2026, battery-grade lithium carbonate prices rose steadily in Q1 due to downstream restocking and tight supply, accelerated in Q2 to peak in May, then corrected sharply as new capacity and imported ore increased. Despite the pullback, spodumene prices were still 35-45% higher than at the start of the year, benefiting producers like Ganfeng.
Ganfeng’s Goulamina spodumene project reached near-full production, contributing 233,800 tons of lithium concentrate in H1. The Cauchari-Olaroz brine project in Argentina produced 19,000 tons of lithium carbonate, with improving capacity utilization. The company’s operating costs grew only 112.53% versus revenue growth of 175.75%, highlighting scale effects and efficiency gains.
Battery and Energy Storage: Full Capacity, Strong Growth
Ganfeng’s battery segment also shone. Energy storage cell capacity utilization approached 100%, with the company’s self-developed 588Ah and 648Ah large cells positioned as industry benchmarks. The 5MWh standard energy storage cabin achieved mass production. Industry data shows China’s power and storage battery production grew 53.3% YoY in H1 2026, with storage battery sales up 83.4%. Ganfeng’s management emphasized that energy storage is transitioning from ‘deployed but unused’ to ‘built for use,’ becoming the strongest incremental driver.
Consumer and power batteries also performed well, with a combined capacity of 1.5 million cells/day and commercial vehicle battery products reaching energy density of 193Wh/kg.
Solid-State Batteries and Low-Altitude Economy: New Growth Vectors
Ganfeng continues to advance solid-state battery commercialization. The 400Wh/kg product has surpassed 1,100 cycles and completed engineering validation, while the world’s first 500Wh/kg-level 10Ah product is in small-batch production. The company has partnered with low-altitude flight vehicle makers for test flights and is developing specialized batteries for drones and manned aircraft. It has also completed product adaptation tests with mainstream robotics companies and started small-batch supply.
R&D spending rose 70.59% to RMB 740 million, about 3.2% of revenue. The company’s balance sheet remains solid: debt-to-asset ratio edged up to 55.12% from 54.23%, total assets reached RMB 122.3 billion, and cash increased by RMB 2.7 billion to RMB 11.176 billion. Operating cash flow surged 342.24% to RMB 1.328 billion.
Notably, non-recurring gains of RMB 409 million included RMB 563 million from partial disposal of PLS shares. Excluding that, core operating profitability remains substantial, with non-GAAP net profit of RMB 3.848 billion.
Key Takeaways for Investors
- Earnings Turnaround Confirms Cycle Resilience: Ganfeng’s ability to swing from loss to near-RMB 4.3 billion profit demonstrates its capacity to navigate lithium price volatility, a positive signal for long-term investors.
- Lithium Price Volatility Remains a Risk: The H1 price path—rising then correcting—highlights uncertainty for H2. Investors should monitor lithium price trends and supply-demand dynamics closely.
- Battery and Storage Growth Provides Diversification: With storage capacity at full utilization and strong industry demand, the battery segment offers a growth engine independent of lithium prices.
- Solid-State and Low-Altitude Economy Are Optionality: These emerging areas could provide significant upside if commercialization accelerates, but they are still early-stage.
- Watch Non-Operating Gains: The PLS disposal gain boosted reported profit; investors should focus on core operating performance (non-GAAP) for sustainable earnings quality.
