How do chromium ore costs and environmental regulations affect chromium trioxide producers' margins?

Zhenhua Chemical, a leading chromium salt producer, reports that upstream chromite ore prices have been climbing, squeezing margins across oxide products. However, price spreads for oxidation products showed a bottoming-out trend from 2022 to 2024, with a notable improvement expected around Q2 2024, which should ease cost pressure. The company's standard capacity is 245,000 tonnes of sodium dichromate, nearly 30% of global output of about 1 million tonnes. Revenue has risen from over RMB 3 billion in 2021 to an expected RMB 4 billion in 2024. Strict environmental controls limit capacity expansion, supporting supply discipline, while demand from aerospace and high-temperature alloys grows at over 5% annually.