On July 7th, Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Huayou Cobalt") released a performance forecast, predicting that in the first half of 2025, the net profit attributable to the parent company's shareholders would reach 2.6 billion to 2.8 billion yuan, with a year-on-year growth of 55.62% to 67.59%; the net profit after excluding non-recurring gains and losses would reach 2.45 billion to 2.65 billion yuan, with a year-on-year increase of 39.85% to 51.26%. Behind this performance report lies the synergy of the company's deepening of its entire industrial chain layout, the rebound of cobalt prices, and the improvement of internal management efficiency.
The core driving force behind Huayou Cobalt's performance growth lies in the continuous optimization of its "resource - manufacturing - recycling" integrated industrial chain. At the upstream resource end, the Hufei project in Indonesia achieved full production and even exceeded production targets, while the Huaiyu project maintained stable production and high output with further cost reduction. The self-sufficiency rate of MHP (nickel hydroxide cobalt) raw materials has significantly increased, effectively reducing reliance on external raw materials. At the downstream cathode material business, it has resumed growth, and the company's technological innovation capabilities have been enhanced, with the "product leadership and cost leadership" strategy achieving remarkable results. Through vertical integration, the company has realized full-process control from nickel, cobalt, and lithium resource development to lithium battery material manufacturing, and the industrial synergy effect has continued to be released.
In the first half of 2025, the global cobalt market saw an improvement in supply and demand balance, and the cobalt price rebounded from its low point. As the world's largest cobalt producer, the Democratic Republic of the Congo's changes in export policies and supply chain fluctuations had previously led to significant short-term fluctuations in the cobalt price. However, Huayou Cobalt effectively mitigated market risks through diversified resource layout (such as the development of nickel-cobalt by-products in Indonesia) and long-term contract order locking of prices. Additionally, the company's management transformation and cost reduction and efficiency improvement measures were further advanced, resulting in remarkable cost control and cost reduction effects, as well as an improvement in operational efficiency, which further expanded the profit margin.
In 2025, Huayou Cobalt's "14th Five-Year Plan" will come to an end, and it will also be a crucial juncture for formulating the "15th Five-Year Plan" strategy. The company's chairman, Chen Xuehua, emphasized at the cadre meeting that they will adhere to the transformation path of "controlling resources at the top, expanding the market at the bottom, and enhancing capabilities in the middle", deepen overseas resource layout, optimize the international manufacturing system, and expand global market share. Technological innovation has been listed as the core engine of the "15th Five-Year Plan", and the company will focus on cutting-edge fields such as high-nickel materials, solid-state batteries, and recycling, and build a global benchmark for lithium battery material technology.
The global demand for cobalt is expected to reach 292,000 tons in 2025, an increase of 9.77%, mainly driven by the new energy vehicle, consumer electronics and high-end industrial sectors. Although the widespread adoption of high-nickel low-cobalt battery technology has somewhat reduced the cobalt usage per unit battery, the overall growth in the production of new energy vehicles still drives up the demand for cobalt. On the supply side, policy changes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (such as export bans) have led to short-term supply shortages, while the rapid release of cobalt production capacity in Indonesia (expected to account for 22% of global production by 2030) has become an important supplement. The potential of the recycled cobalt industry is gradually emerging, and it is expected to account for 15% of global supply by 2030, providing support for sustainable development.
Huayou Cobalt stated that in the second half of 2025, it will continue to follow the principle of "stability and progress, progress and victory", strengthening safety and environmental protection, compliant operation and ESG governance, and improving production capacity utilization and market share. Facing fluctuations in cobalt prices, risks of technological substitution (such as non-cobalt batteries) and global supply chain uncertainties, the company plans to consolidate its industry leadership position through technological innovation, internationalization layout and organizational capacity building.
