Rept Battero Energy, a Chinese battery maker backed by the world's largest nickel producer Tsingshan Holding Group, was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Rept Battero plans to use 80 percent of the listing proceeds to expand its capacity at plants in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, Foshan, Guangdong province, and Chongqing, its prospectus showed yesterday. It will also invest 10 percent in research and development and the rest in working capital.
Rept Battero relies on low prices to gain market share, with its power and energy storage battery prices at about 20 percent lower than those of industry giant Contemporary Amperex Technology.
Its revenue was CNY6.6 billion (USD925.1 million) in the first half of this year, and net loss was CNY919 million (USD128.7 million), while its revenue stood at CNY14.6 billion (USD2 billion) last year on a net loss of CNY451 million, according to the Shanghai-based firm's prospectus. It will likely continue to lose money this year and become profitable in 2025.
Established in 2017, Rept Battero mainly focuses on R&D, manufacturing, and selling lithium power and energy storage batteries. It ranked ninth in battery sales, third in storage battery sales, and seventh in overall sales in China in the first 11 months of this year, according to official industry figures.
Rept Battero has a supply chain advantage compared to other battery manufacturers, an industry insider noted. The cost of raw materials for lithium batteries accounts for about 80 percent of total expenses, but Tsingshan, Rept Battero's controlling shareholder, is building a supply chain in the r new energy materials sector, covering the mining and refining of nickel, lithium, cobalt, cathode and anode materials and electrolytes, the insider pointed out.
Tsingshan, as Rept Battero's related party, major supplier, and customer, owned 51 percent of Eternal Tsingshan Group, which held a 63 percent stake in Rept Battero before the listing.
Shares of Rept Battero [HKG: 0666] rose 1 percent to HKD18.96 (USD2.43) apiece as of 10.25 a.m. today, bringing its market capitalization to HKD43.2 billion (USD5.5 billion). On its first day of listing yesterday, the stock rose 2.6 percent to close at HKD18.78 (USD2.41)
