Close menu




July 26th, 2023 | 07:10 CEST

Raw materials war - is China getting serious? BASF, Mercedes-Benz, Almonty Industries

  • Mining
  • Tungsten
  • Electromobility
  • rawmaterials
Photo credits: BASF SE

Energy transition, smartphones, semiconductors, armaments and more are driving our hunger for critical raw materials. But woe betide if China gets serious and severely restricts the export of critical raw materials. There is already a foretaste: the minerals gallium and germanium can no longer be exported without Beijing's approval. China is by far the leading producer of critical raw materials and rare earths. The EU gets 71% of its gallium and 45% of its germanium from China. So it urgently needs alternative suppliers. In the case of tungsten, Almonty Industries could provide supply. The Company is on the verge of starting operations at a huge mine in South Korea. From 2024, sales and profits are expected to climb sharply. Mercedes could also benefit from this. The Stuttgart-based company has just announced plans to invest billions more in electromobility. BASF, on the other hand, is going straight to China.

time to read: 4 minutes | Author: Fabian Lorenz
ISIN: BASF SE NA O.N. | DE000BASF111 , MERCEDES-BENZ GROUP AG | DE0007100000 , ALMONTY INDUSTRIES INC. | CA0203981034

Table of contents:


    Dr. Thomas Gutschlag, CEO, Deutsche Rohstoff AG
    "[...] China's dominance is one of the reasons why we are so heavily involved in the tungsten market. Here, around 85% of production is in Chinese hands. [...]" Dr. Thomas Gutschlag, CEO, Deutsche Rohstoff AG

    Full interview

     

    Almonty Industries: Jump in sales and profits from 2024

    "Once the downstream plant is running at 100% utilization from 2026, we could provide up to 30% of non-Chinese tungsten supply," Almonty CEO Lewis Black said at an investor conference in May this year. Almonty aims to start making money as early as 2024 when it ramps up its Sangdong mine in South Korea. In addition, the Company already operates three smaller mines on the Iberian Peninsula. However, the focus is clearly on the Sangdong development. Analysts at Sphene Capital expect Almonty to generate an EBITDA of CAD 23.2 million and a net income of CAD 8 million as early as next year. In 2025, profits are expected to increase, climbing to CAD 47.7 million (EBITDA) and CAD 26.2 million (net income).

    Almonty is currently valued on the stock market at only CAD 140 million. Given the expected earnings, this is too little. Planning security is provided by the 15-year offtake agreement already in place with the Austrian raw materials conglomerate Plansee. The Austrians are one of the world's leading tungsten suppliers, with around 11,000 employees and production sites in around 50 countries. The terms for Almonty are very attractive: the minimum purchase price is USD 235 per metric ton unit (MTU). The agreement covers around 50% of production, and the remainder can be sold on the market at spot prices. Almonty should not be worried about sales issues, mainly because the mine is located in South Korea, a country with the highest global demand for tungsten.

    Mercedes relies on exponential growth for electric cars

    Mercedes is also likely to be dependent on tungsten. That is because it expects exponential growth in electric cars in the future. Exactly when remains unclear, but at least in the course of this decade. That is why Mercedes CEO Ola Källenius wants to "up the ante," he told Handelsblatt in an interview. The previously planned EUR 40 billion for research and development of electric drives will be increased. Mercedes is relying on four electric architectures to create the basis for growth in the future. However, sales of electric vehicles are currently relatively manageable. The goal of having pure electric vehicles account for around 50% of total sales by the middle of the decade has been scrapped. The new target is now set for 2026.

    As far as the current sales figures are concerned, analysts are generally optimistic. Bernstein Research, for example, expects Mercedes to achieve its targets for 2023. This is ensured by the high order backlog. However, the analysts also pointed out the sales problems with e-cars and the somewhat restrained consumer sentiment in China. Nevertheless, they rate the Mercedes-Benz share as "Outperform". The price target is EUR 90. Currently, the share is trading at around EUR 71.

    BASF: Dividend at risk?

    Instead of focusing on future new raw material suppliers, BASF is taking a different approach. The chemical giant is investing massively in China. Most recently, the construction of a huge offshore wind farm was announced. In a joint venture with the Chinese energy company Mingyang, BASF plans to build a 500 MW wind farm in Zhanjiang. A BASF Verbund site is also located there. The expansion is currently underway. A world-scale polyethylene (PE) plant is scheduled to come on stream in 2025. It will have an annual production capacity of 500,000 metric tons of PE and serve the rapidly growing demand in China. "The Zhanjiang Verbund site is strategically located close to our customers. It is fully backward integrated to provide them with high-quality and reliable PE products for a wide range of durable applications. These include pipes, specialty films and blow-molded parts for household and industrial chemical containers, especially for the South China market," said Bejoy Chandran, Vice President Basic Business Management & China Sales Management, Petrochemicals Asia Pacific at BASF. BASF's focus on China has faced criticism in recent months from shareholders at its annual general meeting and also politicians. However, the Company seems unfazed by these criticisms.

    The majority of analysts are not impressed by the prospects for BASF shares. Most recently, Barclays reduced its price target for the chemical giant's stock from EUR 68 to EUR 61. The analysts rate the share as "Equal-Weight". With the upcoming quarterly figures, the experts hope for clarity as to whether price discounts currently have to be granted or demand is low. In any case, the earnings estimates have already been reduced as a precaution. Prior to this, Berenberg had already lowered the price target for BASF shares from EUR 54 to EUR 50. Analysts anticipate that the DAX-listed company will cut its dividend for 2023.


    Uncertainties about raw material supplies for key industries will likely be with us for years to come. The current dependence on China and Russia is too great. In the tungsten sector, Almonty emerges as a promising candidate, poised to enter a different league on the stock market, especially with the commissioning of the Sangdong Mine. A prior positioning seems promising. Mercedes is an example of the situation in the German auto industry. The order backlog secures sales in 2023, but what comes after that is a worry. With its focus on China, BASF is effectively going all-in.


    Conflict of interest

    Pursuant to §85 of the German Securities Trading Act (WpHG), we point out that Apaton Finance GmbH as well as partners, authors or employees of Apaton Finance GmbH (hereinafter referred to as "Relevant Persons") currently hold or hold shares or other financial instruments of the aforementioned companies and speculate on their price developments. In this respect, they intend to sell or acquire shares or other financial instruments of the companies (hereinafter each referred to as a "Transaction"). Transactions may thereby influence the respective price of the shares or other financial instruments of the Company.
    In this respect, there is a concrete conflict of interest in the reporting on the companies.

    In addition, Apaton Finance GmbH is active in the context of the preparation and publication of the reporting in paid contractual relationships.
    For this reason, there is also a concrete conflict of interest.
    The above information on existing conflicts of interest applies to all types and forms of publication used by Apaton Finance GmbH for publications on companies.

    Risk notice

    Apaton Finance GmbH offers editors, agencies and companies the opportunity to publish commentaries, interviews, summaries, news and the like on news.financial. These contents are exclusively for the information of the readers and do not represent any call to action or recommendations, neither explicitly nor implicitly they are to be understood as an assurance of possible price developments. The contents do not replace individual expert investment advice and do not constitute an offer to sell the discussed share(s) or other financial instruments, nor an invitation to buy or sell such.

    The content is expressly not a financial analysis, but a journalistic or advertising text. Readers or users who make investment decisions or carry out transactions on the basis of the information provided here do so entirely at their own risk. No contractual relationship is established between Apaton Finance GmbH and its readers or the users of its offers, as our information only refers to the company and not to the investment decision of the reader or user.

    The acquisition of financial instruments involves high risks, which can lead to the total loss of the invested capital. The information published by Apaton Finance GmbH and its authors is based on careful research. Nevertheless, no liability is assumed for financial losses or a content-related guarantee for the topicality, correctness, appropriateness and completeness of the content provided here. Please also note our Terms of use.


    Der Autor

    Fabian Lorenz

    For more than twenty years, the Cologne native has been intensively involved with the stock market, both professionally and privately. He is particularly passionate about national and international small and micro caps.

    About the author



    Related comments:

    Commented by Nico Popp on September 28th, 2023 | 09:05 CEST

    Germany - Car Country? The exodus begins: Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, First Phosphate

    • Mining
    • phosphate
    • Electromobility
    • Energy

    Cars still play a significant role in Germany. Many households have two vehicles, some even more. However, sales of new cars have weakened recently - the question of whether to buy a combustion engine or an electric vehicle, along with inflation, have deterred many buyers. German brand manufacturers are now being attracted to the US. There, they are enticed by subsidies and an intact market. Find out what the latest plans of Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, and others entail and which relatively unknown company could benefit.

    Read

    Commented by André Will-Laudien on September 28th, 2023 | 08:05 CEST

    Attention: Extended correction - Buy the right stocks now! Bayer, Viva Gold, TUI, and BASF are on the list!

    • Mining
    • Gold
    • Pharma
    • chemicals
    • travel

    Higher inflation and rising interest rates - this connection should be clear to investors. The interest rate level in Germany has moved from negative territory to 2.77% in the 10-year range, but stocks continued to rise cheerfully. The party led to all-time highs of 16,528 points in July, but the fundamental situation of the companies deteriorated in parallel. Only after repeated warnings from the US Federal Reserve did the explosive NASDAQ also enter a correction. And it continues. Yesterday, the CEO of US investment bank JPMorgan, Dimon, warned that the world may not be prepared for 7% capital market interest rates. He and Dr. Jens Erhardt, the CEO of the asset management company DJE, warn of stronger setbacks on the stock markets. Some stocks have already undergone a strong correction. Here is a brief overview.

    Read

    Commented by Stefan Feulner on September 28th, 2023 | 07:40 CEST

    Nordex, Power Nickel, Verbio - On the verge of a Breakthrough

    • Mining
    • Nickel
    • renewableenergies
    • Energy

    Both politics and business are taking significant risks in their efforts to achieve climate goals. Fossil fuels are to be replaced by alternative energy sources as quickly as possible. In turn, the consumption of metallic raw materials is increasing to build renewable, energy-efficient systems. As Western countries increasingly strive to become independent of imports from Russia or China, domestic producers of critical raw materials, in particular, are likely to emerge as long-term winners.

    Read