EDITION 4/2021Niclas Weimar & Dricus de Rooij
Welcome to this Edition 4 - 2021 version of the SINOVOLTAICS Energy Storage Manufacturer Ranking Report.
The Altman-Z Scores in this report have been calculated from December 2018 until September 2021, and provide detailed insight how the financial strength of energy storage manufacturers has evolved over the past 3 years.
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What’s the value of Altman-Z Scores?
Why is financial stability important?
Altman-Z Scores are calculated to understand which energy storage manufacturers are financially stable, and which players are at risk of going bankrupt.
For any stakeholder involved in solar projects, the financial stability of the manufacturer is of crucial importance.
Employing energy storage from financially stable manufacturers provides for a better hedge against the potential risks of collapsing return of investment (ROI) of any PV project.
In this new emerging energy storage market, its grand variety of existing and research-in-progress technologies, purchasers face a grand and difficult choice of manufacturers, many of which only recently ventured into this market. In such a new market with average warranties that vary widely between 2 - 10 years, the financial stability of an energy storage manufacturer is crucial as it is geared to the validity and enforceability of the warranty policies on its products. Most people realize that today’s energy storage manufacturers will probably not be around in 5 years. However for the short to medium term, you want to be sure that warranties are in place.
In many years to come, lots of solar PV & energy storage projects will likely face this tough question: whom to contact with performance complaints and replacement requests regarding a malfunctioning battery after 2, 5 or 10 years?”
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2018 - 2021: rating of energy storage manufacturers worldwide
In this report we present you the Altman Z-Scores of 60+ energy storage manufacturers. This report can be used to see how one manufacturer matches up to the other, and can be an important indicator when selecting your energy storage manufacturer.
The Altman Z-Scores show you which energy storage manufacturers are financially strong, and which manufacturers are in the risk zone of going bankrupt within the coming 2 years.
On the following pages you find the full table showing the Altman Z-Scores of the major, publicly listed Asian, European and American manufacturers.
The scores have been calculated by team Sinovoltaics with the use of publicly available financial data.
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MANUFACTURERS RANKING TREND DEC18 MAR19 JUN19 SEP19 DEC19 MAR20 JUL20 OCT20 DEC20 MAR21 JUN21 SEP21 LISTING
TESLA 1 1,79 1,64 1,46 1,58 2,32 2,77 4,56 9,53 13,93 13,46 14,44 16,83 NAS:TSLA
GANFENG LITHIUM 2 4,59 5,34 4,09 4,15 5,71 5,39 6,21 10,42 9,83 12,67 16,12 HKSE: 1772
EVE ENERGY 3 2,2 2,95 4,1 3,86 4,57 5,14 6,67 11,24 8,33 11,24 8,73 SZSE: 300014
MUSTANG BATTERY 4 14,08 8,42 SHSE: 605378
LIVENT 5 8,86 8,35 4,79 4,08 3,38 2,29 2,47 4,99 4,47 5,16 7,27 NYSE: LTHM
CATL 6 3,61 3,48 2,86 2,9 3,65 4,02 5,1 6,94 7,13 7,5 8,04 6,21 SZSE: 300750
SACRED SUN 7 2,76 4,11 3,49 3,37 3,28 3,48 3,6 3,73 3,92 3,94 4,99 5,64 SZSE:002580
KUNG LONG BATTERIES 8 7 9,64 7,4 7,51 8,74 9,06 6,28 7,64 8,23 8,77 5,32 TPE:1537
YUASA BATTERY 9 4,12 5,16 5,07 4,77 4,85 4,42 5,32 4,51 5,16 5,13 5,18 BKK:YUASA
SANYO 10 4,67 4,65 5,21 5,06 5,34 6,46 5,04 4,85 4,49 4,51 4,69 5,03 TSE:3176
VARTA 11 5,72 6,04 8,3 12,4 15,09 7,74 6,09 6,12 6,29 6,6 7,67 5 XTER:VAR1
DESAY BATTERY 12 3,22 4,29 4,16 3,57 3,94 4,39 4,45 4,43 5,51 5,48 4,77 SZSE: 000049
ALBEMARLE 13 2,73 2,68 2,35 2,27 2,39 1,84 1,9 2,05 2,55 2,61 3,73 4,76 NYSE:ALB
DMEGC 14 5,15 5,6 5,37 4,29 4,69 5,87 5,22 5,24 5,03 5,71 4,76 4,68 SZSE:002056
SAMSUNG SDI 15 2,44 2,39 2,53 2,48 2,55 2,71 3,21 3,32 4,13 4,43 4,51 4,47 XKRX:006400
HITACHI CHEMICAL 16 — 2,95 3,31 3,41 3,69 4,12 4,01 4,19 4,32 4,32 4,32 4,32 4,32 TSE:4217
CAMEL GROUP 17 2,82 3,46 3,16 2,72 2,83 2,53 2,75 3,14 3,5 3,59 4,02 SHSE:601311
SEBANG GLOBAL BATTERY 18 3,82 3,92 3,98 3,86 3,84 3,57 2,9 2,93 3,56 4,17 4,37 3,97 XKRX:004490
BYD 19 1,5 1,46 1,53 1,5 1,51 1,58 1,71 2,49 3,28 3,1 4,16 3,78 HKSE:01211
SIMPLO TECHNOLOGY 20 3,4 3,9 3,31 3,38 3,63 3,49 4,31 3,38 3,44 3,49 3,73 3,38 ROCO:6121
TIANNENG POWER INTERNATIONAL 21 2,86 2,79 2,81 2,79 3,17 3,36 3,58 3,55 3,47 3,28 HKSE:00819
LG CHEM 22 3,39 3,05 2,85 2,72 2,70 2,5 2,79 3,1 3,39 3,17 3,16 3,19 XKRX:051910
ENERSYS 23 3,14 3,03 3,09 2,97 3,15 2,74 2,91 3,1 3,19 3,26 3,37 3,18 NYSE: ENS
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MANUFACTURERS RANKING TREND DEC18 MAR19 JUN19 SEP19 DEC19 MAR20 JUL20 OCT20 DEC20 MAR21 JUN21 SEP21 LISTING
EAST GROUP 24 1,79 1,9 1,67 1,61 1,62 1,76 1,84 2,65 2,5 2,18 2,52 2,94 SZSE:300376
CENTER POWER 25 2,62 4,41 3,55 3,18 4,28 3,79 3,46 3,32 2,62 2,77 2,83 SZSE: 002733
GUOXUAN HIGH-TECH POWER ENERGY 26 1,46 1,83 1,36 1,32 1,39 1,58 1,65 1,67 2,19 2,27 2,55 2,79 SZSE:002074
CORUN NEW ENERGY 27 1,65 2,3 2,12 1,48 1,35 1,18 1,48 1,95 1,53 2,05 2,79 SHSE: 600478
EATON 28 2,64 2,79 2,79 2,7 2,95 2,69 2,66 2,88 2,92 3,16 2,94 2,78 NYSE: ETN
SUNWODA 29 2,08 2,47 2,24 2,26 2,33 1,99 2,31 2,47 2,08 2,55 2,78 SZSE:300207
ZHONGTIAN TECHNOLOGY 30 3,19 3,25 3 2,98 2,92 3,15 2,95 3,02 3,02 2,81 2,96 2,72 SHSE: 600522
BASF 31 2,48 2,41 2,41 2,39 2,46 2,22 2,17 2,1 2,08 2,43 2,39 2,58 XTER:BAS
GREAT POWER 32 2,13 2,68 2,12 2,17 2,68 2,45 2,57 2,5 1,92 2,33 2,47 SZSE: 300438
GREENSMITH ENERGY (WÄRTSILÄ) 33 3,26 2,57 2,98 2,7 2,07 2,3 1,78 2,14 2,3 2,33 2,51 2,36 OHEL:WRT1V
TOSHIBA 34 — 2,3 2,23 1,9 1,9 1,95 1,83 1,96 2,01 2,03 2,21 2,36 2,36 TSE:6502
PANASONIC 35 2,23 2,31 2,05 2,04 2,12 2,04 2,1 2,08 2,09 2,15 2,19 2,34 TSE:6752
GS YUASA 36 2,34 2,43 2,39 2,32 2,46 2,09 2,24 2,24 2,55 2,51 2,46 2,33 TSE:6674
CSSC 37 2,02 2,62 2,71 2,61 2,29 2,29 2,17 2,21 2,09 2,11 2,27 SHSE:600482
JOHNSON CONTROLS 38 1,7 1,81 2,35 2,23 1,82 1,53 1,52 1,58 1,67 1,92 2,1 2,21 NYSE: JCI
AMPEREX TECHNOLOGY (TDK) 39 2,15 2,3 2,2 2,5 2,58 2,34 2,43 2,52 2,64 2,48 2,25 2,17 TSE: 6762
CHAOWEI POWER 40 2,07 2,15 2,09 2,06 2,05 HKSE: 0951
SAFT BATTERIES (SAFT GROUPE SA) 41 — 1,99 1,99 1,99 1,99 1,99 XPAR:SAFT
FIAMM (HITACHI) 42 1,94 2,08 2,08 2,09 2,14 1,72 1,78 1,74 1,57 1,79 1,94 1,97 TSE:6501
NEC 43 1,86 1,76 1,77 1,8 1,85 1,78 1,92 2,08 2,03 1,91 1,83 1,88 TSE:6701
MAXELL 44 2,95 2,43 2,38 2,4 2,20 2,01 2,04 1,69 1,71 1,77 1,71 1,81 TSE:6810
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MANUFACTURERS RANKING TREND DEC18 MAR19 JUN19 SEP19 DEC19 MAR20 JUL20 OCT20 DEC20 MAR21 JUN21 SEP21 LISTING
NARADA 45 2,1 2,15 1,69 1,77 1,72 1,8 1,78 2,06 2,05 1,84 1,64 1,73 SZSE: 300068
SK INNOVATION 46 3,07 2,77 2,72 2,76 2,59 2,17 1,92 1,66 1,64 1,58 1,58 1,73 XKRX:096770
SONNEN (ROYAL DUTCH SHELL) 47 2,7 2,6 2,5 2,41 2,46 1,95 1,88 1,52 1,44 1,27 1,35 1,65 NYSE:RDS.A
CHANGHONG 48 — 1,5 1,63 1,5 1,55 1,55 1,5 1,48 1,49 1,61 1,62 1,62 SHSE: 600839
FESE 49 1,69 1,74 1,67 1,73 1,72 1,57 1,59 1,23 1,26 1,35 1,5 SHSE: 600869
JIAWEI 50 -0,17 -0,03 -0,09 -0,28 -0,25 -0,61 -0,63 0,45 1,13 0,21 2 1,39 SZSE:300317
LEOCH BATTERY 51 — 1,54 1,54 1,54 1,53 1,39 1,38 1,17 1,24 1,35 1,35 HKSE: 00842
MERCEDES BENZ ENERGY 52 1,21 1,17 1,05 1,04 1,07 0,99 1 0,98 1,01 1,13 1,19 1,34 XTER:DAI
MITSUBISHI 53 1,43 1,57 1,53 1,5 1,51 1,15 1,15 1 1,09 1,17 1,15 1,33 TSE:7011
NISSAN 54 1,53 1,47 1,44 1,42 1,39 1,28 1,28 0,99 0,98 0,99 0,98 1,3 TSE:7201
CBAK ENERGY 55 -1,95 -1,93 -2,05 -2,1 -2,23 -2,47 -2,74 -1,56 0,19 0,25 2,1 1,23 NAS:CBAT
ENERGIZER HOLDINGS 56 1,16 1,14 1,12 1,12 1,32 1,21 1,33 1,27 1,06 1,33 1,27 1,22 NYSE:ENR
AVIC 57 1,12 1,04 1,02 0,99 1,15 1,21 1,33 1,36 1,16 1,17 HKSE:02357
HYUNDAI ELECTRIC 58 0,92 1,02 0,59 0,53 0,70 0,66 0,35 0,53 0,55 0,87 0,94 1,06 XKRX:267260
COSLIGHT 59 — 1,03 0,95 0,95 HKSE:01043
SHOTO 60 1,2 1,35 1,2 1,12 0,12 0,06 -0,15 0,12 0,34 0,29 0,32 SZSE: 002586
DYNAVOLT RENEWABLE 61 0,03 0,07 -2,09 -2,1 -2,08 -2,1 -0,32 -0,46 -0,53 -0,54 -2,23 -2,71 SZSE:002684
* The trend column in the table reflects a comparison of the current quarter score to the previous one.
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Graph overview
Graph #1 - The latest energy storage manufacturers ranking, recorded September 2021
Graph #2 - Energy storage manufacturers that are currently in the Safe Zone
Graph #3 - Energy storage manufacturers that are currently in the Grey Zone
Graph #4 - Energy storage manufacturers that are currently in the Distress Zone
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Graph #1 - Full ranking overview of energy storage manufacturersSinovoltaics energy storage manufacturer ranking - Edition #4 - 2021
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Graph #2 - Energy storage manufacturers – Safe ZoneSinovoltaics energy storage manufacturer ranking - Edition #4 - 2021 - Safe Zone
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Dec18 Mar19 Jun19 Sep19 Dec 19 Mar 20 Jun 20 Oct 20 Dec 20 Mar 21 Jun 21 Sep 21
TeslaGanfeng Lithium Eve Energy Mustang Battery Livent CATL Sacred SunKung Long BatteriesYuasa Battery SanyoVartaDesay Battery Albemarle DMEGC Samsung SDIHitachi ChemicalCamel Group Sebang Global BatteryBYD Simplo TechnologyTianneng Power InternationalLG ChemEnerSysEast GroupCenter Power Guoxuan High-tech Power EnergyCorun New Energy EatonSunwoda Zhongtian Technology
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Graph #3 - Energy storage manufacturers – Grey ZoneSinovoltaics energy storage manufacturer ranking - Edition #4 - 2021 - Grey Zone
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Dec18 Mar19 Jun19 Sep19 Dec 19 Mar 20 Jun 20 Oct 20 Dec 20 Mar 21 Jun 21 Sep 21
Basf
Great Power
Greensmith Energy (Wärtsilä)
Toshiba
Panasonic
GS Yuasa
CSSC
Johnson Controls
Amperex Technology (TDK)
Chaowei Power
Saft Batteries
Fiamm (Hitachi)
NEC
Maxell
Narada
SK Innovation
Sonnen (Royal Dutch Shell)
Changhong
FESE
Jiawei
Leoch Battery
Mercedes Benz Energy
Mitsubishi
Nissan
CBAK Energy
Energizer Holdings
AVIC
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Graph #4 - Energy storage manufacturers – Distress ZoneSinovoltaics energy storage manufacturer ranking - Edition #4 - 2021 - Distress Zone
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Dec18 Mar19 Jun19 Sep19 Dec 19 Mar 20 Jun 20 Oct 20 Dec 20 Mar 21 Jun 21 Sep 21
Hyundai Electric
Coslight
Shoto
Dynavolt Renewable
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How is the Sinovoltaics Ranking Scorecalculated?
The Sinovoltaics Energy Storage Manufacturer Ranking Score is based on the Altman Z-Score Altman Z-Score = 1.2A + 1.4B + 3.3C + 0.6D + 1.0E
The original formula is broken down as following:
A Working Capital/Total Assets: measures liquid assets in relation to the size of the company.
B Retained Earnings/Total Assets: measures profitability that reflects the company’s age and earning power
CEarnings Before Interest & Tax/Total Assets: measures operating efficiency apart from tax and leveraging factors. It recognizes operative earnings as being important to long-term viability.
D Market Value of Equity/Total Liabilities: adds market dimension that can show up security price fluctuation as a possible red flag
E Sales/Total Assets: a standard measure for total asset turnover
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How are the Altman Z-Scores interpreted?
Z > 2.6 Safe Zone
1.1 < Z < 2.6 Grey Zone
Z < 1.1 Distress Zone
The scores are categorized into 3 zones called the Safe Zone, Grey Zone and Distress Zone:
How to interpret companies in the ‘GREY ZONE’?
With a large number of companies in the ‘Grey Zone’, how to interpret these scores when selecting a manufacturer?
While ideally a manufacturer is in the ‘Green Zone’, some companies have been consistently in the Grey Zone for years.
Take for instance CSSC. Here a number of Altman Z-Scores over the years:
2.02 on Q4-2018
2.29 on Q4-2019
2.21 on Q4 2020
2.27 on Q3 2021
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Johnson Controls Toshiba
2.21 (Q3 2021) 2.36 (Q3 2021)
2.1 (Q2 2021) 2.36 (Q2 2021)
1.67 (Q4 2020) 2.03 (Q4 2020)
1.82 (Q4 2019) 1.95 (Q4 2019)
1.7 (Q4 2018) 2.3 (Q4 2018)
Currently stands at 2.27 (September ‘21)
These numbers show that CSSC has been stable for years. Add the fact that CSSC AZ score has seen a gradual improvement since 2018 and they may just as well be one of the most solid companies on the list.
You could argue the same for known players such as Johnson Controls and Toshiba. As you can see each of these companies show a rather stable score since 2017:
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