[Yihao New Materials: 2025 Net Loss of RMB 58.6219 Million Widened 50.85% YoY, HVLP Copper Foil Still in Sample Testing Stage] Yihao New Materials announced that the cumulative deviation in its closing price increase over the two consecutive trading days on June 15 and June 16, 2026, reached 30%, constituting abnormal fluctuation in stock trading. After self-inspection, the company stated that previously disclosed information requires no correction or supplement; there have been no significant changes in recent production and operations or in the internal and external business environment; the controlling shareholder and actual controller have no undisclosed matters that should have been disclosed, and did not trade the company’s shares during the fluctuation period. The company warned of risks, noting that its net loss attributable to shareholders of the listed company for 2025 was RMB 58.6219 million, a loss that widened by 50.85% YoY compared to 2024, and its overall performance was weaker than the industry average. The certification progress for its HVLP copper foil is slower than some of its peers; it is currently in the sample testing, analysis, and certification stage and has not yet generated revenue. In addition, the second-phase 5,500-mt production line of the “High-Precision Electrolytic Copper Foil Project with an Annual Capacity of 10,000 mt” raised investment project is advancing equipment installation and commissioning, and the commissioning time is subject to uncertainty.

[SMM Copper Foil Monthly Operating Rate] In May 2026, the electronic circuit copper foil operating rate was 89.57%, up 1.14 percentage points MoM and up 13.96 percentage points YoY; the lithium battery copper foil operating rate was 90.68%, up 0.25 percentage points MoM and up 20.29 percentage points YoY. Affected by the grid connection deadline (June 30), energy storage projects experienced concentrated installation rush, together with high production schedules of power batteries, leading to steady release of lithium battery copper foil demand. Robust demand from the AI computing power industry drove the industry capacity upgrade toward high-end specifications, effectively boosting electronic circuit copper foil demand.

[SMM Copper Foil Monthly Operating Rate] In May 2026, the overall operating rate of copper foil enterprises in China was 90.31%, up 0.56 percentage points MoM and up 18.15 percentage points YoY. Among them, the operating rate of large enterprises was 93.38%, medium-sized enterprises 74.88%, and small enterprises 79.85%.

[SMM Copper Foil Operating Rate Forecast] According to SMM forecast, the overall operating rate of the industry will reach 91.55% in June, rising by 1.24 percentage points MoM and by 16.77 percentage points YoY, with shipments expected to grow 2.48% MoM. The electronic circuit copper foil operating rate is expected to rise 0.22 percentage points MoM to 89.79%, and the lithium battery copper foil operating rate to rise 1.76 percentage points MoM to 92.44%. The residual heat of energy storage installation rush, high-level production of battery enterprises, and the transformation toward high-end capacity will support the industry operating rate to hold above 90%.

SMM Analysis: Since Q4 2025, end-use demand in the copper foil industry has fully erupted, the industry has shown high prosperity, and processing fees for various specifications of copper foil have been steadily rising...

Victory Precision stated on its interactive platform on June 5 that at the current stage, the company has three magnetron sputtering systems and three electroplating lines, with a new electroplating line being installed and commissioned. The composite copper foil project is still in the stages of process optimization, sample testing, and mass production preparation. The company has achieved small-batch supply earlier but has not yet secured large-volume orders. The company will advance its investment based on its own project progress, actual market demand, and the overall progress of the industry.

Recently, at the copper alloy division of Shanxi Beitong New Materials Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "New Materials Technology Company"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of North Copper Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "North Copper"), a chromium-zirconium copper alloy casting ingot approximately 9 meters long and weighing about 9 mt was slowly extracted from the crystalliser. Upon detection, the casting ingot product exhibited uniform composition, with all performance indicators meeting standard requirements. This specification of casting ingot product represents yet another major breakthrough for North Copper in the field of high-end copper-based new materials, following its achievements in high performance rolled copper foil and copper-nickel-silicon alloy foil.

According to SMM, the AI industry continued to boost demand for high-end electronic circuit copper foil. Japanese and Taiwanese producers outside China shifted HTE capacity toward high-end copper foil such as RTF and HVLP, tightening HTE standard foil supply and further driving up export demand for China's copper foil. In April 2026, China's copper foil exports were up 10.45% MoM and up 98.96% YoY; cumulative exports from January to April were up 76.71% YoY.

According to SMM, due to booming orders from downstream sectors such as AI, demand for high-end copper foil materials including RTF and HVLP series increased. Some enterprises in China, Japan, and South Korea shifted part of their regular copper foil capacity to high-end copper foil, resulting in reduced supply of regular HTE series copper foil. Consequently, SMM electronic circuit copper foil premiums rose across all series.

As AI computing power demand increases, high-end electronic circuit copper foil upstream in the industry chain is undergoing unprecedented technological iteration and upgrading. To seize this market high ground, multiple A-share publicly listed firms have invested heavily in positioning themselves, and the construction of high-end copper foil represented by HVLP (Hyper Very Low Profile copper foil) and RTF (Reverse Treated Foil) is accelerating across the board.