Highlights

• China Northern Rare Earth Group reported RMB 10.04 billion in net profit for 2024.
• The company reported RMB 329.66 billion in revenue for 2024.
• CNRE is strategically shifting from raw material export to a fully integrated rare earth platform targeting EV, wind power, and electronics markets.
• CNRE expects a dramatic 700% net profit increase in 2025.
• The expected profit increase is driven by upstream supply tightening and downstream demand stimulation.

China Northern Rare Earth Group (opens in a new tab) (CNRE), the world’s largest rare earth supplier by production quota, held its 2024 annual earnings and dividend briefing this week, reporting (opens in a new tab) RMB 10.04 billion ($1.38 billion) in net profit and RMB 329.66 billion ($45.4 billion) in revenue—cementing its leadership in the global rare earth sector.

Executives confirmed a RMB 127 million ($17.5 million) cash dividend distribution for 2024 and signaled continued investor returns, with a five-year cumulative payout of RMB 2.86 billion. CNRE’s controlling shareholder, Baogang Group, recently increased its stake with a RMB 1 billion share purchase.

During the meeting, executives highlighted strategic alignment with China's new Rare Earth Management Regulations, underscoring the company’s role as an “industry chain master.”

Two Rare Earth Base China - The Value Add

CNRE is doubling down on high-value applications across permanent magnets, polishing, hydrogen storage, and catalysis materials, signaling a push to transform from a raw material exporter into a fully integrated rare earth platform. The company’s restructuring via mergers, joint ventures, and greenfield investments aims to capture downstream demand from EVs, wind power, and advanced electronics.

In a bullish first-quarter preview for 2025, CNRE expects net profit to surge over 700% year-over-year, driven by tightened upstream supply, stimulated downstream demand, and firming prices for key rare earth oxides. Operational efficiency improvements, material optimization, and aggressive cost controls further fueled the bottom-line growth. The company noted that production and sales of major products hit record highs in 2024 despite global economic headwinds.

Rare Earth Exchanges (REEx) Realities

CNRE’s vertical integration strategy and explicit mission to “build a high-quality rare earth ecosystem” position it as both a commercial and geopolitical force. Western nations, particularly the U.S., remain vulnerable to supply chain disruptions as CNRE tightens its grip on raw materials and finished, rare-earth-dependent technologies. This performance and policy-backed expansion reinforce the urgency for the U.S. and allies to accelerate domestic rare earth processing and magnet manufacturing capabilities.