Black technology: a super empire spanning two worlds

Chapter 36 [Cost is almost zero, making a profit no matter what]

When Xiao Yu was building the product line, he also differentiated the preparation of single-layer, double-layer, and three or more layers of multi-layer graphene materials according to different purities and qualities.

The level, quality and purity of the materials are different, and the price range is extremely large. Super high-quality materials are sold by the gram, while industrial-grade materials can be so cheap that they are sold by the kilogram.

The high-quality scientific research-grade single-layer graphene on the market has a very wide price range due to its rarity and unique properties, ranging from 1000 to 8000 yuan per gram, which undoubtedly makes it more expensive than gold in some application scenarios.

At this time, the graphene material that Xiao Yu showed to the inspection team was ultra-high purity single-layer graphene, with a purity reaching 5 nines after the decimal point, which was definitely a top-level product in the scientific research level.

There is nothing better than this on the market here on Earth, and this quality and purity is not the limit of Blue Planet.

Xiao Yu did not go all in right away. The highest purity on Blue Star had reached the level of 9 nines after the decimal point, which was 9 orders of magnitude higher than the previous one.

也就是说，小数点后面9个9级别的纯度比现在拿出来的5个9级别的纯度，两者依然存在1万倍的差距，小数点后面9个9级别基本上就是纯单质了。

Even if the 5-9 grade ones are brought to Earth, due to its rarity and unique properties, one gram is sold for tens of thousands of yuan and is definitely in short supply.

The prices of graphene materials vary greatly. High-quality products like this one are sold for thousands or tens of thousands of yuan per gram, while the price of conventional industrial-grade multi-layer graphene has dropped sharply, ranging from 500 to 1200 yuan per kilogram. In other words, the price per gram is between 0.5 yuan and 1.2 yuan.

High-quality graphene materials have huge applications in many fields such as intelligent equipment, aerospace, energy storage, environmental governance, etc., and are now widely used in electronic devices, biosensors, energy storage materials and other fields. It is an important strategic new material.

With the development of these high-end industries, the demand for graphene materials is strong, but the cost of extracting and preparing it from graphite is high, resulting in high prices, and it is also known as "black gold".

Xiao Yu then showed the delegation other graphene materials of different qualities, such as the 99.5% purity and 99.999% purity available on the market, both single-layer and double-layer.

Ying Weiping's inspection this time was far beyond their expectations. At first, they thought that it would be great if Linghan New Materials Company's production capacity exceeded 300 tons, but they did not expect that the comprehensive production capacity would reach 2000 tons. They never expected that the experimental-grade ultra-high-quality purity single-layer graphene material could reach an annual production capacity of tons.

……

"Mr. Xiao, has the market pricing for the products produced by your company been determined?" Ying Weiping asked. At this moment, he and Xiao Yu had come to a reception room to talk.

"We haven't done any market inquiries yet, but for our flagship product, according to market conditions, there is no problem selling it at 8000 to 15000 yuan per gram," Xiao Yu said in an orderly manner.

There is nothing wrong with this statement. The quality is there for everyone to see, it is exclusively provided, and the technology is monopolized. The key is that it is in short supply and you may not be able to buy it even if you have money. This is the unparalleled competitiveness.

At this time, Xiao Yu's brain was also thinking quickly. The cost of transporting graphene from Blue Star to Earth was almost zero.

It is true that high-tech products have high added value, but there are great potential risks if the profit margin is too exaggerated. Food is scarce and expensive on Blue Star, and the profit margin when it is traded from Earth is a thousand times. The profit margin can be converted into star yuan to purchase graphene materials and traded back to Earth. The two-way multiplication is a million times, and there is no tariff.

Xiao Yu clearly realized that he must find a way to suppress the profit margin. It cannot be too outrageous. No matter how high the value of the monopoly technology is or how profitable it is, it cannot reach a profit margin of a million times. If this matter is not taken seriously, it will definitely cause big trouble in the future, because this profit margin is seriously contrary to common sense.

The absolute profit value can be very large, and it is no problem to make a net profit of tens of billions or even hundreds of billions, but the net profit margin must be lowered.

Obviously, the best solution raises the company's overall operating costs.

Other companies are trying to reduce their operating costs and expand their profit margins, but Xiao Yu is facing the opposite situation. He needs to raise his operating costs, and the profit margin will naturally come down, so that the company's overall profit and loss statement can be rationalized and not be too outrageous to go against common sense. Xiao Yu's strategy is to increase the company's operating costs in three ways. The first is to invest in research and development on a large scale in the name of technological research and development. High-tech research and development is synonymous with "money-eating beasts", and it is very expensive to engage in cutting-edge technology.

The second is to increase employees’ salaries, and the third is to continuously recruit employees on a large scale to increase the company’s labor costs.

In this way, the company's profit margin can be lowered and the income statement will become normal.

At this moment, Xiao Yu thought of a new way to lower the profit margin for rationalization. He first anchored a higher number and called it the production cost, and then sold it to the military at a price lower than this number, claiming that it was sold at a loss, but in fact it was still making a lot of money. The price difference in the middle could be included in the loss statement, and the reflection in the company's financial report would be the increase in operating costs, so the book data would be easy to prepare.

If other business owners knew about this, they would be so angry that they would vomit blood, and even feel that their world view was about to collapse. What kind of company would desperately try to increase operating costs?

But the situation Xiao Yu is facing now is so counterintuitive. In order to avoid being discovered as abnormal by the outside world and to integrate into it reasonably, he has to raise the operating costs instead.

"The company's current best quality graphene material will be priced no more than RMB 1000 per gram in the civilian market. I have said publicly before that I will reduce the price to less than RMB , and I cannot go back on my word." Xiao Yu looked at Ying Weiping and said calmly and confidently.

After a pause, Xiao Yu continued calmly, "As for military purchases, I am willing to offer a discount. As long as the profits in the civilian market can support it, it won't be a problem to lower the price of the military to less than 100 yuan."

In fact, Xiao Yu was very worried that the military might order Linghan New Materials Company's entire production capacity to be exclusively supplied to the military due to the large demand, and prohibit sales in the civilian market.

If this situation really happens, it will be a big trouble. Not only will it be difficult to do the accounting, but the problem of pressure on profit margins will also increase significantly in difficulty.

With such a plan, the military has no reason to prohibit Linghan New Materials from selling to the civilian market. It must allocate some quotas for the company to take to the civilian market and make money at a price higher than the military's purchase price, thereby making up for the "losses" from selling to the military. This loss must be put in quotation marks.

To outsiders, the products sold to the military are priced very low, but in fact they are still making a lot of money. However, there is a reasonable "loss amount", which can be used for accounting purposes to lower the company's overall profit margin.

Ying Weiping was also surprised when he heard what Xiao Yu said. According to the figures he gave, the military procurement price was ten times cheaper than the civilian market price.

"There's no need to do that. If you let your company sell at a loss and go bankrupt, wouldn't that hinder the development of our country's technology? The military doesn't need the money." Ying Weiping said. If he knew the actual situation, he would never say that, because there would be no loss at all. Even if the price was quoted in single digits, it would still be a huge profit.

Xiao Yu said methodically: "Director Ying, this is what I think. We sell commercial orders at market prices because the profits are high enough. I am confident in the competitiveness of our products. We sell military orders at a price that is ten times cheaper, even at a loss. Although we lose money, we can make up for it with the profits from the civilian market. Our company will definitely make a profit overall and will not lose money."

At this moment, Xiao Yu was thinking that he could not miss such an opportunity to easily raise the company's operating costs and lower the profit margin.

Xiao Yu added calmly, "There is no end to making money. It is our duty to contribute to the country's national defense."

"Uh, this..." Ying Weiping was instantly stumped by him. This was the first time he had encountered such a situation. He didn't know whether to say that Xiao Yu was too conscious or too eager to improve.

The price quoted to the military was ten times cheaper than the price in the civilian market. When Ying Weiping heard this number, he seemed to hear Comrade Xiao Yu's desire for progress. Was this a price quote? It was a ladder to progress...

……

(End of this chapter)