Angel Yeast plans up to 3.5 bln yuan convertible bond, its first since listing

September 24 — Angel Yeast Co., Ltd. (SH600298) announced on the evening of September 24 that it plans to issue convertible corporate bonds to unspecified investors, with total fundraising not exceeding 3.5 billion yuan. This marks the company's first convertible bond issuance since its listing.

After deducting issuance expenses, the proceeds will be allocated to several projects, including:

• Phase II of the Baiyang Bio-Tech Park Project in Yichang High-tech Zone
• Angel Yichang's core technology research project for yeast protein
• Kekedala's annual 20,000-ton yeast product green manufacturing project
• A flexible intelligent manufacturing and supporting project for 60,000 tons of food ingredients at the park factory
• Supplementary working capital

Several of these projects are directly aimed at expanding yeast protein production capacity. The company has explicitly identified yeast protein as a core strategic growth driver for the "15th Five-Year Plan" period.

Five Major Projects Planned

According to the proposal, each bond will have a face value of 100 yuan, issued at par, with a term of six years, and will be listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Total fundraising is capped at 3.5 billion yuan. After deducting issuance costs, the funds will be invested in five major projects, with a total project investment of 3.771 billion yuan.

Details of the fund allocation:

• Yichang High-tech Zone Baiyang Bio-Tech Park Phase II: 955 million yuan, including:
• 875 million yuan for the annual 32,000-ton yeast protein and co-product green manufacturing project
• 80 million yuan for the annual 12,000-ton high-purity yeast protein and co-product core technology research project
• Angel Yichang yeast protein core technology research project: 890 million yuan
• Kekedala annual 20,000-ton yeast product green manufacturing project: 775 million yuan
• Park factory annual 60,000-ton food ingredient flexible intelligent manufacturing and supporting project: 200 million yuan
• Supplementary working capital: 680 million yuan

Based on feasibility analysis, after these projects are completed and operational, they are expected to add over 33,000 tons of yeast protein capacity annually, along with additional capacity for co-products such as yeast extract and food ingredients. The company stated that the implementation of these projects will rapidly boost its yeast protein capacity, aligning with its strategic goal of becoming "the world's top yeast enterprise and a world-class biotechnology company" during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period.

The company emphasized that this issuance focuses on its core business and rational financing, with the investment projects closely related to existing operations. There is no cross-industry or diversified investment involved. The issuance plan still requires shareholder approval, review and approval by the Shanghai Stock Exchange, and registration with the China Securities Regulatory Commission before implementation.

Steady Performance Growth

Angel Yeast is a global leader in yeast and yeast derivative products, specializing in the R&D, production, and sale of yeast, yeast derivatives, and related biological products. Its products are widely used in baking, fermented foods, seasonings, animal nutrition, microbial nutrition, human nutrition, and bio-manufacturing. The company's total fermentation capacity has reached 490,000 tons, with a 55% domestic market share and over 20% global market share, ranking second worldwide in yeast product scale.

In recent years, Angel Yeast has achieved steady growth:

| Period | Revenue (billion yuan) | Net Profit Attributable to Parent (billion yuan) | |--------|------------------------|--------------------------------------------------| | 2023 | 13.585 | 1.273 | | 2024 | 15.197 | 1.325 | | 2025 | 16.729 | 1.544 | | H1 2026 | 9.187 | 0.881 |

In the first half of 2026, revenue grew 16.3% year-on-year, and net profit attributable to the parent rose 10.21%.

Yeast protein is the company's third growth curve, following its core yeast business and yeast extract. In December 2023, China's National Health Commission included yeast protein in the new food ingredient catalog, making it the first approved protein ingredient in the microbial field in China. Currently, the company's yeast protein production lines are operating at full capacity, with downstream applications expanding from traditional health supplements and sports nutrition to food and beverages, meat products, and other sectors.

The company has positioned yeast protein as a core strategic growth driver for the "15th Five-Year Plan" period. This fundraising initiative is centered on expanding yeast protein capacity, which will help increase production capacity, optimize product structure, improve capacity utilization of food ingredient production lines, and strengthen the company's market position and overall competitiveness. This is expected to support future earnings growth and align with long-term development goals and shareholder interests.

The company noted that after the funds are received, its cash, total assets, and net assets will increase accordingly. Before conversion, the financial cost of using the funds is relatively low. As bondholders gradually convert their bonds, the company's debt-to-asset ratio will decline, helping to optimize its capital structure and enhance risk resilience.

Notably, on the day of the announcement (September 24), Angel Yeast's share price edged down 0.15% to close at 39.70 yuan per share, following two consecutive trading days of modest gains.