Supply Contracts Overseas to Sustain Upward Momentum
发布时间:2026-03-20 来源:华泰证券
Since late February, geopolitical conflict in Iran and the Middle East region has damaged energy facilities in some Middle Eastern countries and disrupted transport through the Strait of Hormuz, leading to concerns over price hikes and shortages in global LNG, methanol, propane/propylene, sulfur, and other products. As natural gas, methanol, propylene, and sulfur are the main raw materials used in methionine production, concerns over overseas supply caused by unstable raw material supply and rising prices are likely to drive methionine prices further upward, and Zhejiang NHU (NHU) is well positioned to benefit given the relative stability of domestic raw material and energy supply. Over the medium to long term, NHU’s methionine, vitamin, and other production capacities have a clear edge over overseas peers in terms of energy, labor, manufacturing, and overall cost competitiveness. Against a backdrop of declining supply stability overseas and potential capacity exit, NHU is likely to continue gaining global market share. Given the improving fundamentals of methionine and related products, we raise our 2027-2028 net profit attributable to shareholders forecasts and lift our target price to RMB52.63, up by 38%. Maintain BUY.
Feedstock issues hitting suppliers overseas favor methionine
According to EFFMALL, since late February, frequent price increases and supply shortages of overseas natural gas, sulfur, and other raw materials caused by geopolitical conflict-related factors have led Evonik’s Singapore methionine plant and Sumitomo Chemical Asia to declare force majeure one after another. According to Boyar, global methionine capacity was about 2.55mtpa in 2025, of which China accounted for about 1.02mtpa, or roughly 40%, while the remaining capacity was mainly located in Europe at 21%, Japan at 10%, Southeast Asia at 16%, and the US at 13%. We expect the pressure on overseas methionine supply to be difficult to resolve in the short term, given the impact of geopolitical conflicts on overseas natural gas and sulfur supply, as well as the medium-to-long-term decline in sulfur by-product output from global refineries. According to Boyar, the market price for solid methionine was RMB28.75/kg on 10 March, up by 63% from the start of the year, while the domestic methionine spread has also widened significantly. With the downstream peak demand season approaching and overseas supply declining, we expect methionine fundamentals to continue improving. NHU’s methionine capacity is all located in China, giving it significant advantages over overseas capacity in raw material procurement costs and supply stability, and it is therefore well positioned to benefit.
Earnings forecasts and valuation
Given the expected continued increase in methionine and other product prices, we forecast the company’s attributable net profit at RMB6.7bn, RMB8.5bn, and RMB9.6bn for 2025, 2026, and 2027, respectively, with our 2026 and 2027 forecasts raised by 16% and 19%, for a CAGR of 18%. Based on the average 2026 PE of 19x for comparable companies on Wind consensus, we assign the company a 2026 PE of 19x and raise our target price to RMB52.63, up by 38% from the previous RMB38.24. Maintain BUY.
Risks: uncertainty over the extent of overseas supply contraction; weaker demand than we expect; and a deterioration in the competitive landscape.