Putailai Hong Kong Stock IPO, Focusing on New Energy Battery Sector, Performance Shows Volatility

In recent years, with the development of new energy vehicles, energy storage, and other industries, the market size of new energy batteries has expanded rapidly. Now, companies in this field are also going public in Hong Kong.

Gelonghui has learned that recently, Shanghai Putailai New Energy Technology Group Co., Ltd. (referred to as “Putailai”) submitted a prospectus to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, planning to list on the Main Board, with China International Capital Corporation serving as its sole sponsor.

Putailai (603659) is an integrated solution provider for the upstream of the new energy battery industry chain, mainly engaged in membrane materials and coating processing, anode materials, and other businesses. As of the close on March 20, the company’s market value exceeded 67.5 billion yuan.

What is the current situation of the new energy battery market? Let’s take a closer look today.

01

Over 70% of revenue comes from key materials for new energy batteries, facing customer concentration risk

The core of new energy battery technology is lithium-ion batteries, with sodium-ion batteries, solid-state batteries, and other new technologies accelerating research, development, and industrialization.

Dividing by downstream application fields, new energy batteries can be categorized into energy storage batteries, power batteries, and consumer batteries.

Among them, power batteries are mainly used in new energy vehicles; energy storage batteries are primarily used in energy storage systems, power transmission and distribution, electricity consumption, and data centers; consumer batteries are used in mobile phones, laptops, drones, small robots, wearable devices, and other products.

The upstream of the new energy battery industry chain includes cathode materials, anode materials, separators, electrolytes, aluminum-plastic packaging films, functional materials, and other core battery materials, as well as equipment for battery materials and manufacturing. Participants include not only Putailai but also Hunan Yune, Defang Nano, Rongbai Technology, Dangsheng Technology, BTR New Energy, Shanshan Co., Ltd., Tianqi Materials, Nanjing Zhaoyang, Enjie Holdings, Xingyuan Material, and others.

The midstream focuses on manufacturing and assembly of various new energy batteries, including lithium-ion, sodium-ion, and solid-state batteries, with participants such as CATL, BYD, Zhongchuang Hang, Guoxuan High-tech, EVE Energy, Sunwoda, Ruipu Lan Jun, Haichen Energy Storage, Zhuhai Ganyu, Desay Battery, ATL, and more.

The downstream sector widely applies the batteries produced in the midstream to new energy vehicles, energy storage systems, consumer electronics, and other scenarios. Participants include Tesla, BYD, Li Auto, NIO, Xpeng, Geely, State Grid, China Southern Power Grid, Sunshine Power, Haibo Sico, and others.

Source: Zhuoshi Consulting; images from the prospectus

Putailai mainly engages in R&D, manufacturing, and sales of key materials for new energy batteries and automated equipment for new energy batteries.

In the field of new energy battery materials and services, the company can supply coating separators, membrane materials, anode materials, and functional materials independently, or provide integrated material solutions tailored to specific process requirements of customers, including CAAS electrode tab OEM services.

In the field of new energy automation equipment and services, the company offers automated equipment and related technical services for the production of new energy batteries and materials, as well as integrated, customized solutions from key materials to core equipment.

Specifically, from 2023 to 2025 (the “Reporting Period”), over 70% of the company’s revenue will come from key materials for new energy batteries, with revenue from automated equipment for new energy batteries increasing from 22.4% to 26.5%. A small portion of other income comes from sales of scraps.

Revenue by product type, source: prospectus

Putailai directly purchases raw materials and components from suppliers. During the reporting period, raw materials accounted for approximately 47.7%, 52.8%, and 59.3% of total sales costs, respectively. If raw material prices rise or transportation, warehousing, and other service costs change, it could increase the company’s production costs.

The company actively expands its global customer base in the power, energy storage, and consumer markets, maintaining partnerships with leading battery manufacturers and automakers such as CATL, BYD, Sunwoda, LG New Energy, Samsung SDI, ATL, Zhongchuang Hang, Ruipu Lan Jun, Zhuhai Ganyu, EVE Energy, Ganfeng Lithium, Geely Auto, Volkswagen Group, and others.

Putailai’s main clients are new energy battery manufacturers. During the reporting period, revenue from the top five clients accounted for 70.4%, 66.1%, and 58.4% of total revenue, respectively. Among them, the largest client contributed about 39%, representing a significant proportion. Losing or significantly reducing orders from major clients could impact the company’s profitability.

Notably, by the end of 2025, the company’s inventory balance exceeds 8.9 billion yuan, while trade receivables and notes receivable amount to 5.828 billion yuan, indicating a large scale and potential risks of inventory impairment and customer credit.

Putailai sells products in China and other regions globally. From 2023 to 2025, revenue from mainland China increased from 85.1% to 94%, with a declining trend in overseas revenue.

02

Performance fluctuations and intense industry competition

In recent years, Putailai’s performance and gross profit margin have fluctuated.

In 2023, 2024, and 2025, the company’s revenue was approximately 15.293 billion yuan, 13.399 billion yuan, and 15.656 billion yuan, respectively. Gross profit margins were 25.9%, 22.1%, and 29.7%, with net profits of about 2.153 billion yuan, 1.387 billion yuan, and 2.614 billion yuan.

In 2024, revenue declined due to overcapacity in lithium battery industry, weak downstream demand, and falling product prices. In 2025, increased market demand led to higher sales of key materials for new energy batteries, boosting revenue.

Company operating performance, source: prospectus

It is worth noting that from 2023 to 2025, R&D expenses decreased from about 961 million yuan to 888 million yuan, showing a downward trend.

Additionally, as a capital-intensive industry, the company needs significant capital investment in equipment procurement and production base construction. By the end of 2025, the company’s interest-bearing bank loans and other borrowings totaled 10.414 billion yuan, with financial costs exceeding 230 million yuan. Continued reliance on borrowing to support operations could increase liquidity risks.

The company’s performance is influenced by demand in the end-market for new energy batteries. Technological progress, development of alternative materials, replacement cycles, and overall economic conditions could all impact the market size.

Driven by rising penetration of new energy vehicles, increasing energy storage demand, technological advancements, and cost reductions, the global new energy battery market size grew from 530.5 GWh in 2021 to approximately 2,257 GWh in 2025, with a compound annual growth rate of 43.6%.

Looking ahead, with the global energy transition and carbon neutrality goals, the market size of new energy batteries is expected to continue expanding, with a projected CAGR of 22.7% from 2025 to 2030.

Source: Zhuoshi Consulting; images from the prospectus

Among these, the market for new energy battery separators is one of the key materials. Its main function is to prevent short circuits caused by contact between positive and negative electrode materials while allowing ions to migrate freely, ensuring normal battery operation. The global market size for new energy battery separators is 36.5 billion square meters in 2025, expected to reach 94.3 billion square meters by 2030.

In 2025, global shipments of anode materials for new energy batteries are about 3.04 million tons, expected to exceed 7.85 million tons by 2030, with a CAGR of 20.9%.

Despite the industry’s growth trend, competition remains fierce. According to Zhuoshi Consulting, in 2025, the global coated separator industry for new energy batteries is highly concentrated, with the top five players accounting for 70.9% of the market share. Among them, Putailai holds a 35.3% share, making it the largest supplier of coated separators for new energy batteries worldwide, but it faces competition from Enjie Holdings, Xingyuan Material, Jinhui New Energy, SK Innovation, and others.

In 2025, the company’s shipments of anode materials for new energy batteries ranked sixth globally, accounting for 4.7% of the industry. Increased competition could impact its market share in the future.

03

Founded by former fund managers, a Shanghai-based IPO breakthrough

Putailai was founded by Liang Feng and Chen Wei in 2012. It was restructured into a joint-stock company in 2015 and listed on the Shanghai Main Board in 2017. The company is headquartered in Pudong New Area, Shanghai.

By the end of 2025, the company employed 5,912 full-time staff, over 90% of whom are based in China, with a few overseas.

Employee details by function as of the end of 2025, source: prospectus

Regarding ownership structure, as of March 10, 2026, Liang Feng, Ningbo Shengyue, and Ningbo Kuo Neng collectively hold 45.01% of the voting rights, forming the controlling shareholder group.

Liang Feng, the chairman, is 58 years old. He earned a master’s degree in economics from Zhejiang University in 2003. He has served as a fund manager at Huaxia Fund Management Co., Ltd., Huatai Bairui Fund Management Co., Ltd., and as a director at Shanghai Chengyi Private Equity Fund Management Co., Ltd. Since December 2015, he has been chairman of Putailai.

Chen Wei, the general manager, is 55 years old. He graduated in 1993 with a bachelor’s degree in precision instruments from the University of Science and Technology of China. He previously worked at Dongguan Nancheng Xinke Magnetic and Electronic Products Factory, Dongguan Huangcun New Energy Electronic Factory, and Dongguan New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. He co-founded Putailai with Liang Feng and serves as general manager.

Han Zhongwei, the executive vice president, is 51 years old. He earned a Ph.D. in economics from Middlesex University in the UK in 2007. He previously served as deputy general manager, secretary of the board, and chief financial officer at Shanghai Metersbonwe Fashion & Accessories Co., Ltd. He joined Putailai in November 2015 and has held roles including director, deputy general manager, secretary of the board, and CFO.

In 2023, 2024, and 2025, Putailai paid dividends of approximately 473 million yuan, 298 million yuan, and 358 million yuan, respectively. In March 2026, the company declared a dividend of 484 million yuan, expected to be paid before listing.

For this Hong Kong IPO, the company plans to raise funds to expand production capacity, including building new anode material facilities in Malaysia and new separator base film facilities in Sichuan; support R&D projects mainly related to advanced anode and separator materials and new solid-state battery electrolytes; and for working capital and general corporate purposes.

Overall, benefiting from the growth of the new energy vehicle and energy storage industries, Putailai has become a leading global supplier of coated separators for new energy batteries and an important player in the anode material field. However, the company also faces risks such as raw material price fluctuations, high customer concentration, and large inventory scale. In the highly competitive industry, whether the company can balance technological iteration, global expansion, and risk management remains to be seen. Gelonghui will continue to monitor.