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Jianbang Metal, which sells photovoltaic silver powder and reported revenue exceeding RMB 5 billion but with a mere 2% gross margin, is making its third attempt at an IPO after slipping from the top spot

Produced by | Frontline of Entrepreneurship

Author | Xingkong

Editor | Wang Yajing

Visual editor | Xing Jing

Reviewed | Songwen

In the photovoltaic (PV) supply chain, there is one material that has always remained behind the scenes yet determines whether each solar cell can convert sunlight into electric current—silver powder.

It is the core raw material for PV silver paste, which in turn is essential for cell conductivity. Without silver powder, even the most efficient PV technology would remain purely theoretical.

Jinan Jianbang Metal Materials Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as 'Jianbang Metal') is a Chinese supplier primarily engaged in the production of PV silver powder. On July 14, the company filed its IPO prospectus with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, marking its third attempt to go public on the exchange.

Jianbang Metal held the top spot in the industry in 2023 but has since been overtaken by two newer competitors. In 2025, the company’s revenue surpassed the RMB 5 billion mark, yet its gross margin during the same period fell below 5%, and in the first five months of 2026, it dropped further to just 2%.

On one hand, the company is experiencing explosive growth in scale; on the other, its profit margins are razor-thin. The repeated setbacks in Jianbang Metal’s IPO attempts reflect the urgent need for breakout strategies amid the intense competition and cyclical pressures within the PV silver powder sector.

1. A leading Chinese PV silver powder manufacturer, now overtaken by two peers

Jianbang Metal originated as Jianbang Colloidal Materials, founded by Chen Jian in 2010.

In its early days, the company focused on high-tech new energy and advanced materials sectors. In 2012, after identifying that China was heavily reliant on imported photovoltaic silver paste, it decided to enter this segment and launched dedicated R&D efforts, gradually building an integrated system covering research and development, production, and sales.

In July 2022, Chen Jian stepped down through a succession plan, handing over leadership to his then 30-year-old son, Chen Zichun, who became Chairman of the Board, Executive Director, and controlling shareholder, taking full charge of the company’s strategy and operations.

Under Chen Zichun’s leadership, Jianbang Metals rose to become one of the industry’s top players.

According to data from Frost & Sullivan, based on revenue from photovoltaic silver paste sales in China, Jianbang Metals ranked first among all domestic producers as of the end of 2023, with a market share of 10.0%.

Unfortunately, Jianbang Metals failed to hold onto its position as market leader. Its market share dropped to 9.8% in 2024, slipping to third place; in 2025, although it remained in third position, its market share further declined to 9.3%.

In just two years, Jianbang Metals has been overtaken by two peer companies, both of which are rising newcomers.

Among them, Company A, which ranked first in the industry in 2025, was founded in 2021 and became the industry leader in only five years—a clear sign of its exceptional strength. Close behind is Company B, established in 2012, which was still founded two years later than Jianbang Colloidal Materials.

In fact,Jianbang Metals has not slowed down.From 2023 to 2025, Jianbang Metals’ revenue grew from RMB 2.782 billion to RMB 5.067 billion, an increase of over 82%.

However, the entire industry and its peers have moved even faster,According to data from the China Photovoltaic Industry Association, from 2023 to 2025, sales revenue of photovoltaic silver powder in the Chinese market rose from RMB 28.1 billion to RMB 52.5 billion, an increase of 86.8%.

Amid rapid industry expansion, Jianbang Metals failed to outpace the growth rates of both the sector and its competitors.

More troublingly, Jianbang Metals’ leadership position rests on a relatively fragile supply chain—marked by high concentration among both customers and suppliers.

From 2023 through the first five months of 2026, revenue from the company’s top five customers consistently accounted for more than 71% of total revenue, with its largest customer alone contributing over 20% throughout the period. Meanwhile, procurement from its top five suppliers exceeded 97% of total purchases during the same timeframe, and the share from its largest supplier rose from 51.1% to 75.1%.

This means that Jianbang Metals is not a dominant player in the supply chain with strong bargaining power, but rather a middleman potentially squeezed from both upstream and downstream sides.

Significant fluctuations in orders from major customers or supply disruptions from key suppliers could expose the company to substantial risks that may severely impact its financial performance.

2. Soaring revenue fails to mask its razor-thin profitability

If judged solely by revenue, Jianbang Metals exhibits a steep upward trajectory.

From 2023 to 2025, the company’s revenue surged from RMB 2.782 billion to RMB 3.950 billion and further to RMB 5.067 billion, representing a compound annual growth rate exceeding 30%. In the first five months of 2026, revenue skyrocketed by 187.4% year-over-year to RMB 4.050 billion.

(Figure / Prospectus)

Despite consistently rising revenue, profit margins remain extremely narrow. Between 2023 and 2025, the company’s gross profit margins were only 3.9%, 3.3%, and 4.7%, respectively, while net profit margins stood at 2.2%, 2.0%, and 3.3%. In the first five months of 2026, gross margin further declined to 2.0%, with net margin shrinking to just 1.4%.

In essence, Jianbang Metals is operating perilously close to its break-even point. This means sharp swings in raw material prices or adjustments in product pricing could easily push the company from profit into loss.

The root cause of its low gross margins lies in Jianbang Metals’ pricing model: cost-plus.

It is understood that the company prices its silver powder products based on the cost of its primary raw material—silver nitrate—with a markup, and the price of silver nitrate is directly linked to the market price of silver.

In the first five months of 2026, raw material costs accounted for as much as 99.7% of total cost of sales, of which silver nitrate procurement alone represented 99.6% of total raw material procurement costs.

This business model essentially resembles precious metals trading more than high-end materials manufacturing. As the company stated in its prospectus: 'Operating with minimal profit margins, coupled with intense market competition, may render us more vulnerable to adverse macroeconomic conditions or sector-specific developments.'

Even more concerning is Jianbang Metal's cash flow situation.

Operating cash flow recorded substantial net outflows in both 2023 and 2024, at RMB -211 million and RMB -369 million respectively. The primary drag stemmed from persistently rising notes receivable: by the end of 2024, notes receivable reached RMB 175 million, tying up significant working capital due to delayed downstream payments. In 2025, the scale of notes receivable declined to RMB 45 million, leading to a temporary recovery in operating cash flow, which turned positive at a net inflow of RMB 291 million.

However, in the first five months of 2026, its net operating cash flow turned negative again, recording an outflow of RMB 19.62 million. During the same period, notes receivable rebounded to RMB 80 million, indicating recurring working capital constraints and resulting in unstable operating cash flows and weak internal cash generation capacity.

This has also left the company’s cash buffer on the balance sheet looking precarious. At year-end 2023 and 2024, Jianbang Metal held only RMB 108 million and RMB 294.5 million in cash and cash equivalents, respectively. In 2024, despite generating nearly RMB 4 billion in revenue, the company carried short-term bank borrowings of RMB 2.06 billion at period-end, leaving its liquidity stretched thin.

In 2025, the company’s cash and cash equivalents jumped to RMB 1.90 billion, but by the end of May 2026, this figure had declined again to RMB 1.78 billion.

(Figure / Prospectus)

What puzzles outsiders is that, despite suffering operating cash outflows and holding less than RMB 300 million in cash on hand in 2024, the company still paid out RMB 300 million in dividends.

Now, the company plans to use IPO proceeds to repay bank debt. This combination of generous dividend payouts alongside raising capital from the market to service debt inevitably raises questions about the prudence of its internal governance and financial planning.

3. Facing dual pressures from overreliance on a single product and technological disruption

While declining market share and low gross margins represent short-term operational challenges, the company’s heavy dependence on a single product amid the industry-wide shift away from silver poses a fundamental risk to Jianbang Metal’s medium- to long-term viability.

After all, Jianbang Metal’s business structure is extremely concentrated. From 2023 through the first five months of 2026, sales of silver powder accounted for an overwhelming 99.1%, 97.4%, 97.3%, and 98.8% of total revenue, respectively.

(Figure / Prospectus)

It is evident that Jianbang Metals’ revenue is almost entirely dependent on a single product—silver powder. Any fluctuation in market demand for silver powder would severely destabilize the company’s core business, as it lacks other operations to hedge against operational risks.

In the cost structure of photovoltaic (PV) cells, silver paste represents the largest component of non-silicon costs. Over the past three years, silver prices have been continuously rising.

According to Frost & Sullivan, the average silver price increased by 30.6% from RMB 4,900 per kilogram in 2023 to RMB 6,400 per kilogram in 2024, and is projected to rise further by 34.4% to RMB 8,600 per kilogram in 2025.

Domestically, the average silver price rose by 152.1% from RMB 7,100 per kilogram in the first five months of 2025 to RMB 17,900 per kilogram during the same period in 2026.

The rise in silver prices has not only driven growth in Jianbang Metals’ annual revenue but also increased the share of silver powder in the cost structure of PV cells. For PV module manufacturers, whose gross margins are already thin, reducing or even eliminating silver usage has naturally become an imperative for cost control.

Currently, alternative solutions to PV silver powder are primarily focused on silver-coated copper and electroplated copper technologies.

In its prospectus, Jianbang Metals explicitly acknowledges that technological advancements and the development of alternative materials for PV silver powder used in solar cells could negatively impact demand for its silver powder products. Any such developments could materially and adversely affect the company’s business, financial condition, and operating results.

In the future, should the market trend toward 'silver-free' technologies gain momentum, Jianbang Metals’ valuation logic will face a fundamental overhaul.

Currently, the industry leader, Company A, clearly has a more diversified business portfolio—offering not only silver powder but also copper powder, nickel powder, and other metal powders—giving it significantly stronger risk resilience compared to Jianbang Metals.

Facing this existential technological shift, Jianbang Metals is not entirely unprepared.The company disclosed in its prospectus that it is developing a patent portfolio related to copper powder and silver-coated copper powder.

Leveraging relevant projects, the company has developed two technical routes for producing silver-coated copper powder, three for synthesizing copper powder, and two for antioxidant surface modification of copper powder—totaling seven technical routes. It is currently advancing pilot-scale production and preparations for mass manufacturing, and will subsequently file patent applications for these technological achievements.

In other words, although the company has diversified its business layout, its related products have not yet entered mass production or reached the market, making it unlikely in the short term to become a 'second growth curve.'

One of Jianbang Metal’s fundraising objectives in this IPO is to strengthen R&D efforts and drive technological innovation, with a focus on three strategic directions: 'silver-free substitution,' 'silver reduction transition,' and 'non-silver expansion.' These correspond respectively to developing full-replacement solutions like copper powder, transitional technologies such as silver-coated copper powder that reduce silver usage, and exploring new application scenarios beyond the photovoltaic sector.

In summary, Jianbang Metal faces both structural risks from overreliance on a single business line and industry-wide risks stemming from rapid technological iteration. The convergence of these dual risks amplifies uncertainty and vulnerability in the company’s long-term operations.

Jianbang Metal is accelerating its transformation, but it remains to be seen how much time remains within its strategic window—and whether this IPO can buy the company additional runway. This will require ongoing monitoring.

*Note: The featured image in this article is from Shutterstock (AI-generated) under the VRF license; all other uncredited images are also from Shutterstock under the VRF license.

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