Sealand: Supply and demand situation improves, expect profits in the photoinitiator industry to improve.

Sealand released a research report stating that since 2025, the prices of various photosensitizer products have been rising. On the supply side, the production capacity of the photosensitizer industry has been continuously concentrated in enterprises with scale advantages, cost advantages, and technological advantages. On the demand side, with the strong push of policies such as domestic real estate, there is a revival trend in the traditional demand areas of photosensitizers, and emerging application industries such as 3D printing materials, PCBs, and photoresists are developing rapidly, with broad prospects for photosensitizer demand. With the gradual improvement of the supply and demand pattern, photosensitizer prices are expected to bottom out and rebound, and industry profitability is expected to be restored. This is the first coverage, with a "recommended" rating given to the photosensitizer industry. Sealand's main viewpoints are as follows: Demand side: Traditional demand rebounds, emerging demand opens up space Photocurable materials mainly include UV coatings, UV inks, UV adhesives, etc., which are mainly composed of photosensitizers, monomers, oligomers, and additives. Photocuring technology is an efficient, environmentally friendly, energy-saving, and widely applicable material processing and processing technology. Photosensitizers are the core components of photocuring materials, and their performance plays a crucial role in the curing speed and degree of photocuring materials. According to the data in the Sino-High 2024 annual report, photosensitizers usually account for 3%-5% of the usage in photocuring materials, and the cost generally accounts for 10%-15% of the overall cost of photocuring products. According to the China Photosensitive Society, in 2023, the market size of UV coatings in China was 6.2 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 8%; the market size of UV inks was 5.5 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 11%; the market size of UV adhesives was 2.6 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 238%. Currently, with the strong push of domestic real estate policies and others, the demand for photosensitizers used in coatings is showing a trend of recovery; UV inks are growing driven by downstream applications such as PCBs, textiles, vacuum plating, lipsticks, etc.; UV adhesives are also growing driven by the use of optical adhesives in touch screens, electronic adhesives for circuit board curing and bonding, and composite adhesives for high-resistance soft packaging. According to the statistics of the China Photosensitive Society Radiation Curing Professional Committee, the demand for photosensitizers in China reached 35,000 tons in 2023, an increase of 9%, and is still growing. According to the "Wohlers Report 2025", the total revenue of the global 3D printing industry reached 21.9 billion US dollars in 2024, a 9.1% increase from 200 billion US dollars in 2023, with material sales at 4.4 billion US dollars. It is estimated that the global 3D printing market size will reach 114.5 billion US dollars by 2034, with a compound annual growth rate of 18% from 2024 to 2034, and the compound annual growth rate of material producers is expected to reach 21.7%, showing strong growth momentum. With the continuous promotion of downstream applications in PCBs in fields such as artificial intelligence, data centers, and smart cars, the overall global demand for PCBs is increasing. According to Prismark data, the global PCB output value was 73.565 billion US dollars in 2024, a 5.8% year-on-year increase; the global PCB market size is expected to reach 94.661 billion US dollars by 2029, with a projected compound annual growth rate of 5.2% from 2024 to 2029. In 2024, the PCB output value in mainland China was 41.213 billion US dollars, and the PCB market size is expected to reach 50.804 billion US dollars by 2029, with a projected compound annual growth rate of 4.3% from 2024 to 2029. The global photoresist market presents a "duopoly + local rise" pattern. According to the data from Poly Information Consulting, foreign companies such as Tokyo Ohashi, Shin-Etsu Chemical, and DuPont occupy 60% of the high-end market, but in the mid-to-low-end market, local enterprises such as Jiangsu Nata Opto-electronics Materials, Red Avenue New Materials Group, and Crystal Clear Electronic Materials have made breakthroughs. Poly Information Consulting predicts that by 2025, local enterprises will have a 35% market share in the KrF photoresist market, the localization rate of ArF photoresist will exceed 20%, and EUV photoresist will enter the pilot verification stage. With the rapid development of industries such as 3D printing materials, PCBs, and photoresists, the demand prospects for photosensitizers are broad. Supply side: Industry concentration is expected to continue to increase The domestic production capacities of leading photosensitizer companies in 2024 were: Tianjin Jiuri New Materials 23,000 tons, Changzhou Tronly New Electronic Materials 17,000 tons, Wokairong 13,000 tons, IGM 12,000 tons, Yangfan New Materials 8,000 tons, and Guran Technology 5,000 tons, with a relatively concentrated competitive landscape. According to the data from the China Photosensitive Society Radiation Curing Professional Committee, the production of photosensitizers in China reached 59,000 tons in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 5.4%. According to the annual report data of various companies in 2024, the photosensitizer production volumes of Tianjin Jiuri New Materials, Changzhou Tronly New Electronic Materials, and Yangfan New Materials in 2024 were 19.9, 7.3, and 4.0 million tons respectively, accounting for 52.73% of the total industry production in 2024. The production process of each type of photosensitizer involves multiple steps of organic chemical reactions, posing certain technological barriers. With the increasingly fierce market competition, the production capacity of the photosensitizer industry in China is continuously being concentrated in enterprises with scale advantages, cost advantages, and technological advantages. Since 2024, Ningxia Wokairong New Materials Co., Ltd. has been listed as a dishonest executor many times. On June 9, 2025, a fire accident occurred in workshop 109 of Jiangxi Yangfan New Materials Co., Ltd., and Jiangxi Yangfan received a "Decision on On-Site Handling Measures" issued by the Pengze County Emergency Management Bureau on June 10, 2025, ordering Jiangxi Yangfan to suspend production and business operations for rectification. Production and operation and use can only be resumed after passing the acceptance inspection and review. Since 2022, due to the poor economic environment and fierce competition with relatively abundant supply side capacities, the prices of photosensitizers have generally declined, and overall enterprise profits have weakened. With the profitability of the photosensitizer industry reaching its lowest point, obsolete production capacities are gradually being phased out, and the future competitive landscape of the photosensitizer industry is expected to further improve. Risk warning Risks of production safety and environmental protection, product price fluctuations, intensified industry competition, tariff policy risks, exchange rate fluctuations, focus on companies' profit forecasts falling short of expectations, risks of technological updates and iterations.