China's National Bureau of Statistics reported on August 27 that, as of the end of July, accounts receivable for industrial enterprises above a designated size nationwide reached 28.88 trillion yuan, up 8.5% year-on-year, while operating revenue for the same category hit 80.92 trillion yuan, up 6.5% year-on-year. The growth rate of receivables has outpaced that of revenue.
At the same time, the time taken for enterprises to collect payments has been lengthening, with private enterprises faring worse than state-owned ones. As of the end of July, the average collection period for receivables among large industrial enterprises stood at 71.9 days, an increase of 0.9 days year-on-year. As of the end of June, the collection period for private industrial enterprises was 75.6 days, notably longer than the 55.6 days for state-controlled enterprises.
On September 14, the State Council Information Office held a policy briefing to specifically address the difficulties small and medium-sized enterprises face in collecting payments. Guo Ruiming, director of the listed company supervision department at the China Securities Regulatory Commission, stated at the meeting that regulators will tackle the problem from both ends: on one hand, pushing listed companies to strengthen information disclosure and standardize payment practices; on the other hand, focusing on the operational difficulties of small and medium-sized market players in the industrial chain to promote smooth capital circulation across the entire chain.
This policy signal has once again thrust the issue of listed companies' accounts payable and supplier payment terms into the capital market spotlight.
As a segment of the new energy industrial chain with a massive supporting system and a concentration of small and medium-sized suppliers, the scale and payment term changes of listed companies' accounts payable in lithium battery manufacturing not only reflect the industry's prosperity cycle and capital distribution pattern across the supply chain, but also directly affect the survival of numerous upstream small and medium-sized materials enterprises.
According to statistics from the first-half 2026 financial reports, the accounts payable and notes of 10 major listed lithium battery companies show significant divergence. Against the backdrop of an overall trend toward shorter payment terms across the industry, some second-tier manufacturers have bucked the trend by extending their payment cycles. Among them, REPT BATTERO (HKEX: 00666) stands out as the industry focal point, with the highest payable turnover days and a nearly doubled payable growth rate.
Clear Payable Scale Tiers Emerge: Leaders Contract While Second-Tier Players Post Collective Surges
In terms of the absolute scale of accounts payable and notes, the lithium battery industry exhibits a strong concentration effect at the top, with stark differences between tiers. CATL (SZSE: 300750) firmly holds the absolute top position with 355.5 billion yuan in payables, accounting for over 60% of the total sample, but this represents a 4.9% year-on-year decline, making it the only top-tier manufacturer to record negative growth.
Second-tier manufacturers in the 40 billion yuan range generally show high growth. EVE Energy posted payables of 47.2 billion yuan, up 50.7% year-on-year; Sunwoda Electronic reached 39.4 billion yuan, up 54.6%; Gotion High-tech recorded 36.2 billion yuan, up 37.2%; and CALB reported 30.2 billion yuan, up 45.3%. All four companies saw payable growth rates above 30%.
Divergence is even more extreme in the 20 billion yuan and below tier. REPT BATTERO (HKEX: 00666) saw its accounts payable and notes reach 23.9 billion yuan, a sharp 94.7% year-on-year increase, the highest growth rate in the industry. Azure Lithium Core recorded payables of 4.7 billion yuan, up 90.0% year-on-year, also nearly doubling. Among tail-end companies, Penghui Energy and Desay Battery posted payables of 9.8 billion yuan and 5.3 billion yuan respectively, up 49.1% and 5.7% year-on-year; Farasis Energy had only 3.3 billion yuan, down 40.2% year-on-year, the largest contraction in the industry.
Industry Payment Terms Narrow Overall While REPT BATTERO Bucks Trend to Overtake CATL
Payable turnover days, which correspond to scale growth, show a pattern of "overall narrowing with localized reversals." In the first half, most lithium battery manufacturers saw year-on-year declines in payable turnover days, indicating an overall optimization of supply chain payment cycles. Penghui Energy recorded the largest improvement, with turnover days plunging 40.8% year-on-year. CATL (SZSE: 300750) saw turnover days of 265, down 25.3% year-on-year, confirming a clear trend of shortening payment terms among leading companies. CALB, Gotion High-tech, EVE Energy, Farasis Energy, and Desay Battery also saw varying degrees of payment term reduction.
However, two companies saw their payment terms significantly lengthen against the trend. Azure Lithium Core recorded turnover days of 196, surging 39.3% year-on-year, the largest increase in the industry. REPT BATTERO (HKEX: 00666) reached 287 turnover days, not only up 12.5% year-on-year but also surpassing CATL to become the company with the highest payable turnover days in the entire industry.
Against the broader backdrop of industry leaders proactively optimizing payment terms and driving improved capital circulation across the supply chain, REPT BATTERO's persistently rising ultra-long payment terms stand in clear divergence from the industry's overall trend.
High Debt Ratio Combined with Low Gross Margin: Negative Publicity Reflects Multiple Operational Pressures
Behind REPT BATTERO's nearly doubled payables, industry-topping turnover days, and continuously lengthening payment terms lie the company's persistently high financial pressure and unexpected operational risks. Data shows that as of the end of the first half of 2026, the company's debt-to-asset ratio had risen to 77%, with internal cash flow generation capacity under strain. Extending upstream supplier payment terms has become an important means for the company to alleviate its own funding gap and support capacity expansion.
At the same time, REPT BATTERO's profitability gap compared to peers is also relatively pronounced. In the first half of this year, Azure Lithium Core posted a gross margin of 20.3%, Penghui Energy 19.6%, and CALB 16.7%. Although REPT BATTERO's gross margin improved from 8.7% in the same period last year to 13.3%, it continued a multi-year trend of being the lowest among peers.
Recently, REPT BATTERO became embroiled in a "employees stripped bare" public opinion controversy, dealing a blow to its brand image and internal management, and indirectly reflecting the company's internal control tensions under competitive pressure. In an industry environment where price competition in power batteries persists and profit margins are broadly under pressure, high debt combined with negative operational publicity has further compressed the company's financial maneuvering room, passively increasing its reliance on upstream supplier payment terms.
Under the policy direction of regulators explicitly standardizing listed companies' payment practices and focusing on resolving payment collection difficulties for small and medium-sized enterprises, the payment term divergence in the lithium battery industry is facing new compliance boundaries. For companies like REPT BATTERO with high debt and long payment terms, the room to maneuver by extending supplier payment terms in exchange for cash flow buffers will continue to narrow.
The payables game in the lithium battery industry is essentially a deep contest of corporate competitiveness and financial strength. During the industry's cyclical adjustment phase, second-tier manufacturers' financial chain resilience and ability to maintain a healthy supply chain balance will face even more severe market tests.
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