The Zhitong Finance App learned that lithium battery concept stocks had the highest decline. As of press release, Ganfeng Lithium (01772) fell 5.23% to HK$39.16; China Airlines (03931) fell 5.04% to HK$17.72; Ningde Times (03750) fell 4.82% to HK$629.5; Tianqi Lithium (09696) fell 3.25% to HK$35.16.
According to the news, on July 17, the Ministry of Finance, the General Administration of Customs, and the State Administration of Taxation officially issued an announcement to gradually resume the levy of consumption tax on battery products that were previously exempt from consumption tax, such as lithium batteries and lithium-ion batteries, and set a two-tier tax rate. From September 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026, the tax rate was raised to 4% from January 1, 2027. In the context of battery consumption tax policy adjustments, companies are actively promoting downstream transmission, and battery companies have successively issued price adjustment letters to customers.
Notably, according to Ningde Era's second-quarter earnings report, the overall gross profit was only 34.22 billion yuan, and gross margin was only 23.2%, which is close to the lowest point in 24 years. Lyon published a research report saying that gross margin for the second quarter of the Ningde era fell short of expectations, triggering a new round of concerns in the market. Since the company has just begun mass production of sodium-ion batteries, it is even more difficult for investors to determine whether its profit margin will pick up in the second half of the year.