Power battery giant goes bankrupt and suspends operations, with debts of 19.7 billion and arrears of debt to 559 suppliers!

3,2512020-01-04

Data show that there were 155 power battery companies in China in 2017; in 2018, this number fell to 105; by this year, there are only 80 power battery manufacturers, of which only about 40 can truly achieve installed capacity. Watma’s predicament is only a microcosm of the power battery industry. The 2020 knockout will become increasingly tragic …
Fallen Altar: Battery Support Ranked No. 2 in China
On December 23, 2019, Shaanxi Jianrui Woneng Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Jianrui Woneng) issued an advisory announcement by the manager regarding the risks of suspension and termination of listing of shares. The announcement states that the company’s financial accounting reports for two consecutive years in 2018 and 2019 have been issued by the certified public accountant with a negative or unable to express an opinion, an audit report for three consecutive years, and been declared bankrupt by the court due to the failure of the reorganization, resulting in The risk of the company’s stock being suspended and terminated.
One month ago, Jianrui Woengeng issued an announcement saying that the Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court had formally accepted the case of the bankruptcy and liquidation of its subsidiary Waterma. According to related announcements, Waterma Battery’s external debt was about 19.7 billion yuan, of which about 5.4 billion yuan was owed to 559 suppliers.
Public information shows that Waterma was established in 2002, and is the first domestic lithium iron phosphate battery company to successfully develop solutions for lithium iron phosphate new energy automotive power batteries, automotive start-up power supplies, and energy storage system solutions and take the lead in achieving large-scale production and batch applications. One.

Watma has also been one of the best in the country, ranking second in the domestic new energy vehicle battery matching rankings. In 2016, Watma was acquired by the then Kenray Fire at a premium of nearly 6 times and a total price of 5.2 billion yuan, which was therefore renamed Kenray Warneng.
However, this “marriage” seemed to become a curse. Just one year after the acquisition, Watma fell from the altar to the bottom due to continued losses.
In the second half of 2017, a debt crisis broke out in Waterma. In the industry’s view, the root of the Watma crisis lies in Watma’s “reverse customization” business model. That is, the Waterma Alliance signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the local government, and Waterma invested in a local factory and received government orders. After receiving the order, the operating company Xin Wo Transportation will order the car from the OEM, and the specified vehicle must be equipped with a battery provided by the Waterma Innovation Alliance.
However, Kenriwo firmly denied this statement. They believe that the adjustment of new energy vehicle subsidy policies is the trigger of the crisis.
Currently. Jenvenor has been suspended. The closing day of the trading suspension on December 22, the market value of Jianrui Woengeng was only 3.9 billion yuan, which was a 90% plunge compared to the high market value.
Bankruptcy liquidation: 20 listed companies affected by this
At the headquarters of Waterma Battery Co., Ltd. in Pingshan District, Shenzhen, only a few staff members went in and out, and there was no sign of normal production.
At another factory in Waterma, a staff member confirmed that Waterma was still in normal production before November 13. However, since the Shenzhen Municipal Intermediate People’s Court of Guangdong Province issued the “Announcement on Selecting the Manager of Bankruptcy and Liquidation of Shenzhen Waterma Battery Co., Ltd.”, Waterma has officially entered bankruptcy liquidation procedures, and many devices have been seized and production has been completely stopped.
One employee said that the factory, which used to be close to a thousand people, now has fewer people behind. There’s no production here. I’m on vacation for three months, and then I’ll come back to pay the wages, and the (battery) will be stored in the warehouse.
Except as Waterma went into bankruptcy and liquidation, companies that cooperated with Waterma were involved.
First and foremost, of course, is Waterma’s parent company, Jianrui Weneng. The first three quarters achieved revenue of 430 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 87.86%, and the net loss attributable to shareholders of listed companies was 2.61 billion yuan.
In addition, companies belonging to the Innovation Alliance have also been affected.
It is understood that Waterma had established an innovation alliance, led by Waterma, and co-sponsored by 18 listed companies to integrate 185 core companies in the new energy vehicle industry chain, with more than 1,000 member companies. Its main customers include: Dongfeng Special Automobile, FAW Bus, Dayun Automobile, Sinotruk Howo, Xiamen Jinlv, Nanjing Jinlong, Shanghai Shenlong, Zhuhai Yinlong, Jiulong, Jiangsu, Chery Wanda, etc., almost including domestic commercial new energy All major brands of buses.
However, no one expected that the once “leading” can also collapse in more than a year. In addition to Yaxing Bus, more than 20 listed companies including Changyuan Group (Protect Rights), Nuode, Yinghe Technology, Fulin Precision, Xingmin Zhitong, Zhuoneng Materials, National Technology (Protect Rights), National Technology, etc. spread.
Shuffle has arrived: it will be reduced to more than 20 in 2020
However, the fall of Waterma is not an example, but a microcosm of the reshuffle of the power battery industry. Starting from 2013 to today, power batteries have risen and fallen for seven years, and nearly 150 companies have disappeared, which can be roughly divided into three categories:
1. Established earlier and has been engaged in the development and production of power batteries (represented by Waterma);
2. Companies transformed from lithium battery digital battery factories, lead-acid, nickel-metal hydride battery manufacturers and other categories of battery factories (represented by Hubei Mengshi, recently in a bankruptcy crisis);
3. New entrants such as listed financial companies (typical cases include Aikang Technology in the photovoltaic industry, Sino-Portuguese shares in the wine industry, and Yulong shares in the welded steel pipe industry, etc., which were all washed out during the reshuffle period).
Until now, those who still sang on the high-speed channel, leaving only the Ningde era and BYD in the “Big Three”.

Among them, the market share of the Ningde era is already close to 50%. On the one hand, with the rapid development of the new energy vehicle industry, the demand for the power battery market has increased compared with the same period of last year; on the other hand, the company has strengthened market development, released cable production capacity in the early stage, and increased production and sales.
The other is BYD. Due to the strong demand from downstream OEMs, the power battery industry has continued to grow at a high speed. BYD’s power battery production line is almost always under full load.
Some data predict that with the tightening of policies, raising the threshold, and changing routes, the concentration trend of the power battery industry will intensify. By 2020, domestic power battery companies will be reduced to more than 20 companies.
Despite the reshuffle, the development of the domestic power battery industry is far from reaching its end. Under the dual guidance of new policies and the market, foreign-funded enterprises will return to the Chinese market and compete positively with domestic power battery companies. The decline of new energy subsidy policies and the cold winter of the new energy vehicle market will also force the power battery industry to continue to survive.

The article is comprehensively compiled from CCTV Finance, China Investment Network, and Car stuff.