Foshan's environmental protection industry revenue is the third in Guangdong, helping to polish the green background of the manufacturing industry

Recently, the "Report on the Development Status of Foshan Environmental Protection Industry (2023)" (hereinafter referred to as the "Report") jointly compiled by the Guangdong Environmental Protection Industry Association, the Foshan Environmental Protection Industry Association, and the Energy Conservation and Environmental Protection Industry Research Institute of the Guangdong Provincial Environmental Protection Association was released. The overall revenue of enterprises participating in the 2022 environmental protection industry survey in Foshan was 36.28 billion yuan, ranking third in Guangdong Province, second only to Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

The operating profit of the environmental protection business is second only to Shenzhen

The report statistically analyzes the development of Foshan's environmental protection industry and the future development capacity of the industry based on the basic survey data of key enterprises in Guangdong Province's environmental protection industry in 2022, the financial statistics of Guangdong's environmental service industry in 2022, and the data of Foshan environmental protection enterprises listed on the Guangdong A-share market, overseas listed and listed on the New Third Board in 2022.

According to the report, the number of enterprises participating in the 2022 survey in Foshan is 238, ranking second in the province and second only to Guangzhou. The operating income was 36.28 billion yuan, ranking third in the province, second only to Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Among them, the operating income of environmental protection business was 17.46 billion yuan, also ranking third in the province, accounting for 48.1% of the operating income, and the operating profit was 4.75 billion yuan, ranking second in the province, second only to Shenzhen, with an overall profit margin of 13.1%.

Specific to the subdivisions, Foshan's environmental protection enterprises are mainly concentrated in the field of water affairs and air pollution prevention and control, with 81 and 68 respectively, followed by environmental monitoring and testing, solid waste treatment and disposal and resource utilization, with 32 and 30 respectively. In terms of operating income, the three segments with the highest revenue in Foshan in 2022 are: solid waste disposal and resource utilization revenue of 16.17 billion yuan, air pollution prevention and control revenue of 12.05 billion yuan, and water affairs revenue of 6.88 billion yuan. In terms of profit margin, only the profit margin of water affairs and air pollution prevention and control is higher than the overall average profit margin of Foshan by 13.1%, which is 16.5% and 14.6% respectively.

In terms of the same sample, a total of 201 environmental protection enterprises in Foshan were the same samples in 2021 and 2022. Compared with 2021, the operating income and operating profit of the above-mentioned enterprises have declined slightly, with a decrease of 1.2% and 9.9% respectively, and in terms of profit, enterprises in all segments have declined, with a decline of 5.6%-172.0%, of which the largest decline is in the field of environmental monitoring and testing.

In terms of the top 20 finalists in various subdivisions of the province, whether it is operating income or environmental protection business income, the six fields involved in the survey have been shortlisted by Foshan environmental protection enterprises, with 11 and 13 enterprises respectively.

The water sector has become a hot spot for investment

In terms of the analysis of industrial development capacity indicators, the report analyzes the main indicators such as innovation ability, profitability, asset operation ability, debt repayment ability, and investment and financing ability of Foshan environmental protection enterprises.

The report pointed out that the proportion of R&D expenditure in operating income of environmental protection enterprises is at a medium level, among which the field of environmental monitoring and testing is the highest. In 2022, the R&D expenditure of the 199 enterprises included in the survey of key enterprises in Foshan's environmental protection industry totaled 810 million yuan, accounting for 2.3% of operating income.

In terms of ROE, the average ROE of the surveyed companies was 13.2%, a decrease compared to 2021. In terms of total asset turnover, the total asset turnover rate of environmental protection enterprises is low, and the total asset turnover rate of enterprises decreased slightly year-on-year. In terms of accounts receivable, the accounts receivable turnover rate of environmental protection enterprises is relatively low, and the accounts receivable turnover rate of the same sample enterprises has increased. In 2022, the average accounts receivable turnover ratio of the surveyed enterprises is 5.1.

In terms of investment and financing, the water sector has become a hot area for investment in the environmental protection industry of the year. In 2022, the total annual investment of the surveyed environmental protection enterprises in Foshan will be 330 million yuan, of which about 90% will be invested in the water sector and 10% will be in the field of solid waste treatment, disposal and recycling. The total financing of the surveyed enterprises was 1.55 billion yuan, of which 1.52 billion yuan was loans from banks and credit cooperatives. It can be seen that at present, the financing of the environmental protection industry is still dominated by indirect financing represented by bank and credit union loans. In terms of specific segments, the financing amount of enterprises in the fields of water affairs, solid waste treatment, disposal and recycling, air pollution prevention and control, and environmental monitoring and testing accounted for 79.0%, 17.7%, 2.4%, and 0.8% of the total financing, respectively.

The year-on-year decline in corporate financing was more obvious. Compared with 2021, the annual financing amount of the same sample enterprises decreased by 84.4% in 2022.

The environmental protection market will usher in more development opportunities

Looking forward to the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, the "14th Five-Year Plan for Ecological and Environmental Protection of Foshan City" clearly states that by 2025, Foshan's urban and rural ecological environment will be more beautiful, and the ecological environment will continue to improve. By 2035, Foshan's ecological environment will fundamentally improve, carbon emissions will first peak and then stabilize and decline, and the modernization of the ecological environment governance system and governance capacity will be basically realized, and a beautiful Foshan will be built.

To polish the green background of the manufacturing industry, high-quality environmental protection industries are needed to support it. The report pointed out that Foshan will build a technological innovation system for the environmental protection industry guided by the government, the main body of enterprises, and coordinated by industry, university and research, and guide all kinds of environmental research institutions to settle down. Make full use of the opportunity to build "ten innovation-led characteristic manufacturing parks and ten modern service industry clusters" and 54 10,000 mu and 44,000 mu industrial clusters, scientifically guide the adjustment and transformation of the environmental protection industry structure and the rational optimization of the layout of the industry, and accelerate the construction of a modern industrial agglomeration area system led by strategic environmental protection leading industries, supported by advanced environmental protection manufacturing industry, and coordinated development of productive environmental protection service industry. Relying on industrial carriers such as the South China Cluster Area of the National Environmental Service Industry and the Green Valley Circular Economy Industrial Park, we will give full play to the advantages of the environmental protection industry's gathering space, continue to enhance brand awareness, and help the comprehensive development of the environmental protection industry.

According to the report, under the major strategic deployment of the manufacturing industry in Guangdong Province, the work plan of Foshan City to fight the battle of pollution prevention and control, as well as its favorable factors such as scientific research, investment, finance, Guangzhou-Foshan urbanization and other favorable factors, the environmental protection market will release a broader space, and Foshan environmental protection enterprises will usher in more new opportunities for development.