According to SMM data, the operating rate of copper pipe & tube enterprises was 58.74% in February, down 14.13 percentage points MoM and down 11.54 percentage points YoY. February was affected by the Chinese New Year holiday. Leading enterprises maintained stable production and supply, with production showing strong resilience, basically sustaining “no holiday shutdowns” or only 0–3 days , and ensuring normal operations during the Chinese New Year period through shift rotations on production lines. Although orders saw slight fluctuations of 2%–10%, they remained overall under control. However, small and medium-sized enterprises performed poorly in February, dragging down the overall operating rate. Looking ahead to March, the operating rate of copper pipe & tube enterprises is expected to be 77.88%, up 19.14 percentage points MoM and down 7.35 percentage points YoY. The March production schedule of key air-conditioner enterprises fell 9.3% YoY from last year, in line with the YoY decline trend in copper pipe & tube operating rates. However, most copper pipe & tube enterprises said March production is expected to be better than expectations, and there are concerns over advance production and stockpiling. Worth noting is that R&D on high-performance alloy copper tubes by China’s leading enterprises will further reduce copper consumption in air conditioners, and most other enterprises are currently developing this type of technology as well. This has also increased orders for those domestic copper pipe & tube enterprises that already possess such technology, diluting the market share of other enterprises. In addition, the conflict in the Middle East reduced some home appliance export orders to the region, and the April production schedules of some domestic air-conditioner enterprises with relatively high market share exposure there are expected to decline.

According to the investor relations activity record announced by Jintian Holdings on March 19 (March 10-12, 2026): 1. The Company’s 2025 earnings guidance and the reasons for the projected increase. Jintian Holdings replied: In 2025, the company implemented its “dual upgrade in products and clients” strategy, with product applications continuing to deepen in high-end fields; it stepped up expansion among clients outside China, and sales in markets outside China continued to grow; meanwhile, through digitalization initiatives, it improved operational and management efficiency, and the gross margin and profitability of its products improved YoY. The company expected net profit attributable to owners of the parent for 2025 to reach 700 million yuan to 800 million yuan, up 51.50%-73.14% YoY from the same period last year. 2. Progress of the company’s share repurchase. Jintian Holdings replied: From February 3, 2026 to February 28, 2026, the company had cumulatively repurchased 4,942,200 shares through centralized bidding, accounting for 0.29% of its current total share capital, with total funds paid of 56,676,944 yuan (excluding transaction costs). 3. The company’s industry position and competitive advantages. Jintian Holdings replied: The company had focused on the copper processing industry for 39 years and was one of the largest enterprises in China by scale and with the most complete industry chain. In 2024, the company achieved total production of 1.9162 million mt of copper and copper alloy materials, and its total production of copper semis ranked first globally. The company offered a wide range of copper products and could meet clients’ one-stop procurement needs for multiple categories of copper semis, including rods, tubes, plates and strips, and wires. Its copper products had been widely used in NEV, clean energy, communications technology, electrical power and equipment, chips and semiconductors, and other fields. At present, the company had developed a profound cultural heritage and outstanding organizational capability, with a significant market scale position and a global industrial footprint; it possessed leading manufacturing and R&D capabilities; it had built a specialized product matrix and formed a stable base of top-tier industry clients; and it had also established forward-looking green recycling technology barriers, laying a solid foundation for becoming a world-class base for copper products and advanced materials. 4. The capacity and business performance of the company’s rare earth permanent magnet products. Jintian Holdings replied: The company had entered the magnetic materials business in 2001. After more than 20 years of dedicated development, it had become one of the enterprises in China’s peer industry with relatively advanced technology and a well-developed product system. At present, the company had two magnetic material production sites in Ningbo and Baotou. Phase I of the Baotou site had commenced production, and the company’s annual capacity of rare earth permanent magnet materials had increased to 9,000 mt. The company was actively advancing the Phase II project at the Baotou site to further increase capacity to 13,000 mt. At the same time, through its newly established German subsidiary, the company accelerated its international expansion and increased its share in overseas markets. The company was among the first batch of enterprises to obtain a general export license for rare earth permanent magnet products, and it has continued to strengthen and advance export-related business. The company’s rare earth permanent magnet products are widely used in multiple high-end fields, including NEVs, wind power generation, high-efficiency energy-saving motors, robotics, consumer electronics, and medical devices. 5. The Company’s Business Development in the Chip Computing Power Sector. Jintian Co., Ltd. responded: With its outstanding electrical and thermal conductivity, copper has become a core material for advanced AI industry chip interconnects and heat dissipation in computing power facilities, and the transition of copper-based materials toward high value-added products has further accelerated. The company has a solid client base and technical reserves in the chip computing power sector, and it is also among the first companies globally to achieve large-scale supply of copper-based materials to leading enterprises in the above fields. Among them, the company’s high-precision special-shaped oxygen-free copper busbar products have been applied in multiple top-tier GPU cooling solutions of several global first-tier thermal module enterprises. Products independently developed by the company, such as copper heat pipes and liquid-cooling copper pipe & tube, have been supplied in batches for computing power server products of multiple top-tier enterprises. The company will closely monitor and follow market demand in the chip computing power sector, further improve its product portfolio, and enhance the competitive advantages of its products. 6. The Company’s Position Advantages and Business Achievements in the Secondary Copper Sector. Jintian Co., Ltd. responded: The company has continuously innovated new pathways for the green development of copper-based high-tech materials and has become one of the enterprises in China with the largest utilization of secondary copper and the highest comprehensive utilization rate. It is also one of the few companies in the global industry to achieve a closed-loop entire industry chain covering secondary copper recycling, purification, and deep processing. The company’s independently developed low-carbon secondary copper products significantly reduce carbon emissions while ensuring product performance, enabling it to provide downstream clients across the industry chain with high-quality, comprehensive one-stop green solutions for copper semis. In H1 2025, sales of the company’s green, high-end, low-carbon secondary copper products increased 61% YoY. Its product matrix now covers copper strip, copper wire, magnet wire, copper pipe & tube, copper busbar, copper billet, and more, and has been applied in fields such as high-end consumer electronics, the automotive industry, and electrical equipment. Specific applications include laptop cooling modules, mobile phone vibration motors, NEV power battery connections, and AC/DC power supplies. The products have achieved mass production in the products of multiple world-renowned clients, forming a new performance growth driver represented by “green low-carbon secondary copper products.” An investor asked on the investor interaction platform: Have the company’s copper billet products now become core supplies for top-tier enterprises such as DJI Innovation or EHang Intelligent?With the boom in the low-altitude economy’s payload flight market, have the company’s PEEK materials or high-strength copper alloys developed for drone motor bearings and airframe structural components seen explosive growth in orders? On March 19, Jintian Co., Ltd. stated on the investor interaction platform that the company had a solid client base and technical reserves in the low-altitude economy field. Among its products, high-precision free-cutting copper billet, with excellent properties such as high strength and wear resistance, had already been applied in airborne structural components of low-altitude aircraft. The company’s PEEK material products provide high-voltage drive stability technical solutions for the low-altitude economy’s payload flight market, and it had already carried out R&D cooperation with multiple top-tier enterprises in China. The company will closely monitor and follow market demand in the low-altitude economy field, further improve its product portfolio, and enhance its product competitive advantages. For specific related information, please refer to periodic reports. An investor asked on the investor interaction platform: Hello, Board Secretary. Recently, LME copper prices have risen sharply. Under the company’s strictly implemented hedging strategy, did this generate positive gains from closing positions during the reporting period, or was there a slight loss? Approximately how much was the amount? In addition, as the company’s revenue scale expanded, how well did net operating cash flow match net profit in 2025? Was there any cash flow strain caused by prepayments for raw material procurement? On March 19, Jintian Co., Ltd. stated on the investor interaction platform that the company’s copper processing products adopted a pricing model of “raw material prices + processing fee” and carried out hedging operations in strict accordance with the Hedging Management System to reduce the impact of raw material price fluctuations on the company’s net profit. At present, fluctuations in copper prices had a relatively small impact on the company’s operating performance. For specific related information, please refer to periodic reports. On March 18, when responding to investor questions on the interaction platform, Jintian Co., Ltd. stated that the company had continued to expand its technological leadership in high-voltage electromagnetic flat wire and had further advanced cooperation on new energy high-voltage electromagnetic flat wire projects with world-class OEMs and motor suppliers. As of H1 2025, the company had secured 23 new nominations for its 800V high-voltage platform for new energy drive motors, and had already achieved bulk supply for multiple projects, with the shipment share of high-voltage flat wire continuing to increase. For specific related information, please refer to periodic reports. On March 17, when responding to investor questions on the interaction platform, Jintian Co., Ltd. stated that, with its outstanding electrical and thermal conductivity, copper had become a core material for chip interconnection in the advanced AI industry and heat dissipation in computing power facilities. The company had a solid client base and technical reserves in the AI computing power field. Among its products, the company’s high-precision shaped oxygen-free copper busbar products had already been applied in multiple top-tier GPU cooling solutions of several first-tier thermal module enterprises worldwide. The company will closely monitor and follow market demand in the AI computing power sector, further improve its product portfolio, and enhance its competitive edge. For specific information, please refer to the periodic reports. On March 17, Jintian Co., Ltd. said in response to investor questions on an interactive platform that the company continued to expand its technological leadership in the high-voltage electromagnetic flat wire industry, with both the number of designated projects on high-voltage platforms and shipment volume continuing to grow. Among them, the company's 1,000V flat wire products for drive motors have become an industry benchmark as supporting materials for "megawatt flash charging" technology in the NEV sector, while client-related certification for 1,200V flat wire for drive motors was also progressing in an orderly manner. In addition, the company had a solid client base and sound technical reserves in the chip and semiconductor sector. The company will closely monitor and follow market demand in the chip and semiconductor sector, further improve its product portfolio, and enhance its competitive edge. For specific information, please refer to the periodic reports. On March 17, Jintian Co., Ltd. said in response to investor questions on an interactive platform that the company remained committed to advancing its internationalization strategy, and construction of its newly built Thailand production site was progressing smoothly. The company's copper semis products exported outside China had an overall relatively high gross margin. In H1 2025, revenue from its principal operations outside China was up 21.86% YoY and continued to maintain a solid growth trend. The steady growth of business outside China laid a solid foundation for the company to deepen the upgrading of its global product and client mix. For specific information, please refer to the periodic reports. Jintian Co., Ltd.'s 2025 earnings forecast showed that, based on preliminary estimates by its finance department, the company expected net profit attributable to owners of the parent for 2025 to reach 700 million to 800 million yuan, representing an increase of 237.9574 million to 337.9574 million yuan from the same period last year (statutorily disclosed data), up 51.50% to 73.14% YoY. Net profit attributable to owners of the parent excluding non-recurring gains and losses for 2025 was expected to reach 440 million to 528 million yuan, representing an increase of 101.4004 million to 189.4004 million yuan from the same period last year (statutorily disclosed data), up 29.95% to 55.94% YoY. Regarding the main reasons for the expected increase in results for the period, Jintian Co., Ltd. stated: In 2025, the company implemented its "dual upgrade of products and clients" strategy, with product applications in high-end fields continuing to deepen; it stepped up expansion among clients outside China, and sales in markets outside China continued to grow; meanwhile, through digitalization initiatives, it improved operating and management efficiency, and its product gross margin level and profitability improved YoY. On January 23, Jintian Co., Ltd. said in response to investor questions on an interactive platform that Phase I of its Baotou base had been put into operation, and the annual capacity of rare earth permanent magnets had been increased to 9,000 mt. The company is currently actively advancing Phase II of the Baotou base project, with the aim of further increasing capacity to 13,000 mt. The company has a solid client base and technical reserves in the robotics field, and some rare earth permanent magnets have already been applied in the robotics sector. The company will closely monitor and follow market demand in the robotics field, further improve its product portfolio, and enhance its product competitiveness. A performance preview commentary on Jintian Co., Ltd. for 2025 released by Aijian Securities showed that the share repurchase demonstrated confidence in long-term development, while capital structure optimization was advancing steadily. The company’s high-end copper-based materials were being introduced at an accelerated pace to clients outside China in the computing power cooling sector, with sales rising rapidly and profitability improving significantly. 1) In terms of profitability, processing fees for copper busbar used in computing power are relatively high, and product mix upgrades are expected to continue lifting the company’s gross margin level; 2) In terms of shipment progress, in H1 2025, sales of the company’s copper busbar products in the cooling sector increased 72% YoY, and its high-precision profiled oxygen-free copper busbar has entered GPU cooling solutions of multiple global first-tier cooling module enterprises. The company’s copper heat pipes, liquid-cooling copper pipe & tube, and other products have also achieved bulk supply in computing servers of multiple top-tier enterprises. Copper prices fluctuations had a limited impact on the company’s profitability. 1) The company adopts a “copper prices + processing fee” pricing model, with revenue and profit primarily derived from processing fees rather than copper prices themselves. Processing fees are negotiated between the company and clients based on factors such as product specifications and process complexity, and show a certain degree of historical stickiness; 2) The company effectively hedges copper prices through hedging, while fluctuations in upstream raw material prices are mainly borne by downstream customers, resulting in a relatively small impact on the company’s profit; 3) Rapid copper prices fluctuations may affect downstream ordering willingness in phases and lengthen order cycles, but copper application scenarios are characterized by rigid demand, so the impact on total demand is limited, only changing the pace of copper product orders, and the company’s overall operating stability remains strong. The company is actively expanding into the “aluminum as an substitute for copper” direction, with material substitution optimizing the gross profit structure while enhancing its ability to hedge against copper prices fluctuations. 1) On a per-mt basis, the absolute value of processing fees for aluminum products is usually lower than that of copper-based solutions (at the same performance level, processing fees for high-precision aluminum extrusion are about 10,000 yuan/mt, versus about 20,000 yuan/mt for copper semis); however, since the per-mt price of aluminum semis is significantly lower than that of copper, usually about one-fourth of the latter, the material cost base is lower, increasing the share of processing fees in total product value. The corresponding processing fee rate of aluminum-based solutions is about 13–14 pct higher than that of copper-based solutions, providing positive support to the company’s overall gross margin; 2) In terms of supply progress, the company’s electromagnetic flat aluminum wire and aluminum 3D bent busbars for vehicles have entered the certification and mass supply stage, while inner-grooved aluminum pipe & tube for air conditioners has already begun small-batch supply. Risk Warning: Risks of lower-than-expected downstream demand for new energy or capacity release, rising copper prices, and changes in trade policies outside China.

JEIO, a producer of carbon nanotubes (CNT), announced on the 17th that it will begin full-scale supply of thin-wall carbon nanotubes (TWCNT) to CATL. The company expects to supply at least 100 tons of TWCNT this year.

According to recent reports, Gujarat-based manufacturer Venus Pipes & Tubes Ltd has secured a new supply contract for seamless and welded stainless steel tubular products. This order underscores the surging demand for advanced industrial materials across India's engineering, power, and process sectors. As critical components in high-performance applications like power generation, heat exchangers, and chemical facilities, these corrosion-resistant pipes are seeing increased consumption driven by scaling nationwide infrastructure and energy projects. The contract highlights the expanding footprint of Indian stainless steel pipe manufacturers as they increasingly invest in modern production technologies to meet stringent specifications for both robust domestic needs and export markets.

As of March 9, SMM recorded total social inventory of copper cathode in major regions of China at 578,900 mt, up 1,700 mt from last week and up 70,400 mt from February 24, reaching a historical high. Over the same period, spot premiums for SMM #1 copper cathode gradually recovered from premium -260 yuan/mt on February 27 to parity on March 10. Overall, this upswing in spot premiums was mainly driven by the approach of delivery, under which the contango price spread between nearby and next-month contracts stayed around 300 yuan/mt; suppliers held prices firm and withheld sales, while about half of the material was converted into warrants and locked in, jointly tightening circulating supply. Observing the inventory accumulation pace, from the week of March 2 to March 9, inventories in three key regions increased by 14,400 tons, a growth of 2.65%. This marks a significant slowdown compared to the average weekly increase of approximately 45,000 tons during the period from February 5 to February 26. The deceleration in inventory buildup provided room for improvement in premiums. Current inventory accumulation primarily stems from two factors: First, the continued arrival of imported copper. According to SMM research, a substantial volume of imported copper continues to arrive recently, and it is expected that arrivals will not see a significant decline in March. The steady inflow of imported materials provides a continuous supply supplement to the domestic market and is a crucial support for maintaining high total inventory levels. The actual situation of imported arrivals in April remains to be confirmed, requiring close attention to customs data at month-end and changes in port clearance pace. Second, some cargoes are being delivered into bonded/warehouse warrant stocks. According to the electrolytic copper spot purchasing and selling sentiment indices for the Shanghai region recorded by SMM, the purchasing sentiment index rose from 2.08 on February 24 to 2.78 on March 10, while the selling sentiment index increased from 2.09 to 2.90 over the same period. Some downstream players have limited acceptance of current copper prices, maintaining a procurement strategy focused on immediate needs, resulting in selling sentiment slightly outpacing purchasing sentiment. Based on SMM's communications with enterprises: Upstream Producer 1: Recent consumption is relatively good, with daily sales around 2,000 tons. Upstream Producer 2: Currently produced electrolytic copper is primarily for export. Domestic inventories are low, so there's no rush to sell. Unwilling to sell when discounts are excessive. Trader 1: Quotations in the Changzhou market are higher than in Shanghai, mainly because locally available circulating cargoes are mostly warrants. Under the current spread structure, holders have high flexibility in selling – they can choose to sell or hold. Trader 2: The market is not short of supply; there are still a large number of warrants in warehouses awaiting digestion. However, due to the delivery mechanism, the incentive to sell depends on the premium level. Only when the premium exceeds the cost of capital will there be a strong willingness to liquidate. Downstream User 1: Recent orders are relatively robust. When copper prices fell on March 9, we already replenished inventories at the low point. Current raw material inventory can sustain operations until March 15. There are no immediate plans for further procurement; subsequent needs will primarily be met through long-term contract drawdowns. Downstream User 2: The recent spot premium has been quite firm, mainly due to the spread between months. Without such a high monthly spread, the premium would definitely not reach this level. In summary, this round of recovery in spot premiums is driven by multiple factors: First, the approach of delivery and the widening monthly spread strengthened holders' willingness to support prices. With delivery approaching, the Contango spread between months remains around 300 yuan/ton. Holders are underpinning prices, reluctant to sell, and strongly inclined to deliver stocks into warrants. Second, the inventory structure further amplified the tightness of available circulating supply. Taking Jiangsu as an example, out of 118,000 tons of social inventory, 94,000 tons were futures warrants. This portion is locked in delivery warehouses, making it difficult to form effective supply in the short term, leading to a phase of relative tightness in spot market circulating cargoes. According to SMM, some downstream companies in Jiangsu struggled to source materials in the market and opted to procure using the SMM Flat Copper Price average as a benchmark with minor adjustments. Third, the comprehensive resumption of work by downstream enterprises released procurement demand. After the Lantern Festival, downstream processing enterprises in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai entered a full resumption phase. Surveys indicate that companies in the battery materials sector maintain high operating rates. Copper foil processors reported that downstream battery manufacturers sustain high operating rates, with March production schedules already showing characteristics of the peak season. Copper tube companies, supported by peak season stocking from the air conditioning industry, have operating rates exceeding pre-holiday levels. Although the recovery pace in the wire & cable and copper rod sectors is relatively slow, overall procurement demand has significantly improved compared to the first week after the holiday. Fourth, the decline in copper prices activated downstream restocking intentions. Recently, Shanghai copper futures prices retreated somewhat, stimulating downstream enterprises to purchase at dips. Previously suppressed by high copper prices, downstream players mostly maintained a cautious just-in-time procurement strategy, resulting in generally low raw material inventory levels. After the price pullback, some companies took the opportunity to replenish stocks, boosting spot transaction activity.

On February 8, the 6# line of the Phase II Bright Annealing (BA) unit at Xinfeng Special Steel’s cold continuous rolling stainless steel project successfully produced its first coil, with the 304-series material meeting qualification standards on its initial run. General contracted by WISDRI (South China) Thermal Engineering, the Phase II project utilizes a domestic-first four-stage horizontal bright annealing unit design, featuring the longest muffle and largest TV (Tension-Velocity) capacity in China. As a key component of Xinfeng’s strategy to build a green, intelligent factory, the line reached production capacity immediately upon commissioning and is currently undergoing further optimization and debugging to produce high-grade BA plates and tube-making stock.