Brief analysis of 2025 and Q1 2026 report for listed Chinese spandex companies

The domestic spandex industry was in a profound adjustment cycle throughout 2025, with persistently sluggish market conditions and steadily shrinking profit margins. Coupled with intensified industrial competition and fluctuating raw material costs, listed spandex enterprises faced prominent operational pressures during the year, posting a sharp year-on-year decline in full-year net profits and witnessing markedly underperforming business results. Starting from the second half of 2025, the industry gradually bottomed out, with solid market support continuing to strengthen. Entering 2026, recovering rigid demand and pre-holiday concentrated stockpiling boosted market trading activity. Both supply and demand in the spandex market rebounded in tandem, driving market prices to rise steadily. Supported by these favorable factors, listed enterprises achieved a notable profit recovery in the first quarter, and industrial prosperity kept picking up, officially ushering in a cyclical recovery and upward trend.

The 2025 annual reports and Q1 2026 financial reports of spandex-related listed companies have all been released. The major domestic players include Huafon Chemical, Xinxiang Chemical Fiber and Tayho New Materials. Their combined capacity accounted for 47.7% and 51.3% of total spandex capacity in Chinese mainland at the end of 2025 and the end of Q1 2026 respectively. This paper summarizes and compares key spandex-related operational indicators sourced from the above financial reports for industry reference.

Figure 1. Major indicators of spandex-related listed companies in 2025

Unit: RMB 100 MLN; %

Figure 2. Major indicators of spandex-related listed companies in Q1 2026

Unit: RMB 100 MLN; %

Huafon Chemical is mainly engaged in the R&D, production and sales of polyurethane materials including spandex fiber, polyurethane spinning solution and adipic acid. According to data from CCFGroup, its spandex capacity stood at 410kt at the end of 2025 and 485kt at the end of Q1 2026. As disclosed in its 2025 annual report, the company achieved operating income of RMB 24.198 billion in 2025, a year-on-year decrease of 10.15%; net profit reached RMB 1.858 billion, down 16.32% year on year; total assets amounted to RMB 36.884 billion, rising 2.55% year on year. Its chemical fiber business posted operating income of RMB 8.78 billion and operating cost of RMB 7.33 billion, with a gross profit margin of 16.52%. During the reporting period, chemical fiber output hit 399,200 tons with plant operating rate of 84.04%, and sales volume reached 396,300 tons. Output and sales volume increased by 11.69% and 7.65% respectively year on year, while annual inventory rose 13.6% year on year to 27,500 tons. According to its 2026 Q1 financial report, the company recorded operating income of RMB 6.767 billion in the first quarter of 2026, a year-on-year increase of 7.17%, and net profit attributable to parent company shareholders of RMB 669 million, down 32.58% on annual basis.

Xinxiang Chemical Fiber is principally engaged in the production and sales of biomass cellulose filament and spandex, belonging to the chemical fiber industry. According to the statistics from CCFGroup, its spandex capacity remained stable at 228,000 tons both at the end of 2025 and the end of Q1 2026. In 2025, the company realized operating income of RMB 7.857 billion, up 6.67% year on year, and net profit attributable to listed company shareholders of RMB 198 million, a year-on-year drop of 19.36%. Among these, spandex business contributed operating income of RMB 4.56 billion, accounting for 58.0% of total main business revenue, with operating cost of RMB 4.51 billion taking up 63.7% of total operating cost and a gross profit margin of merely 1%. Its spandex output was 201,500 tons and sales volume 216,100 tons in 2025, growing by 9.99% and 25.79% year on year respectively. The inventory of chemical fiber products fell 8.46% year on year to 49,800 tons. In Q1 2026, the company achieved operating income of RMB 2.217 billion, a year-on-year growth of 17.88%, and net profit of RMB 116 million, surging 319.52% on annual basis.

Tayho New Materials specializes in the R&D, production and sales of high-performance fibers such as spandex and aramid fiber, with core products covering spandex, meta-aramid, para-aramid as well as their upstream and downstream products. CCFGroup data showed that its spandex capacity maintained at 102,000 tons at the end of 2025 and Q1 2026. As shown in its 2025 annual report and 2026 Q1 report, the company garnered operating income of RMB 3.595 billion in 2025, down 8.51% year on year, and net profit attributable to parent shareholders of RMB 41 million, slumping 52.81% year on year. Its chemical fiber segment achieved operating income of RMB 3.54 billion and operating cost of RMB 2.95 billion, with a gross profit margin of 16.61%. Affected by oversupply in the market, the spandex business of its Ningxia Ningdong subsidiary faced sluggish product prices and insufficient operating rate, resulting in sustained operational pressure. In 2025, the company pushed forward technical renovation and product upgrading to improve operational efficiency and cut production costs, narrowing losses by RMB 95.82 million with an annual loss of RMB 293 million. During the reporting period, its chemical fiber output was 79,500 tons, down 14.31% year on year, and sales volume stood at 84,900 tons, a year-on-year decline of 2.46%. Chemical fiber inventory dropped 21.1% year on year to 20,600 tons by the end of 2025. In the first quarter of 2026, the company posted operating income of RMB 1.051 billion, a slight year-on-year decrease of 0.61%, and the net profit attributable to parent company of RMB 160 million, rising 50.81% on the year.

Figure 3. Production and sales of chemical fiber and spandex in listed spandex-related companies in 2025

Unit: kt; %

Figure 4. Gross profit margin of chemical fibers in spandex-related listed companies in 2025

Unit: RMB 100 MLN, %