Shandong Stock Watch | 37.44 Million Restricted Shares of Yankuang Energy Lifted Today, Third Phase of Equity Incentive Program Draws Attention

Text | Shan Shuo

On March 17, 2026, Yankuang Energy Group Co., Ltd. (Stock code: 600188, hereinafter referred to as “Yankuang Energy”) will have 37,440,900 restricted shares lifted from restrictions and listed for trading.

According to the “Announcement on the Third Lock-up Release and Listing of Restricted Shares under the 2021 A-Share Restricted Stock Incentive Plan” issued by Yankuang Energy Group Co., Ltd. on March 12, 2026 (hereinafter referred to as the “Lock-up Release Announcement”), this release accounts for 0.37% of the company’s total share capital, with the listing date set for March 17, 2026. This is also the third lock-up release period under the company’s 2021 A-share restricted stock incentive plan.

Source: Visual China

1161 Incentive Targets Eligible, Accounting for 0.37% of Total Share Capital

According to the disclosed lock-up release announcement, Yankuang Energy held a meeting of the 21st session of the Ninth Board of Directors on February 11, 2026, where it approved the “Proposal on the Review and Approval of the Third Batch of Restricted Shares to be Unlocked under the A-Share Restricted Stock Incentive Plan,” confirming that the conditions for the third lock-up release period of the 2021 A-share restricted stock incentive plan have been met.

The announcement shows that a total of 1161 incentive targets are eligible for lock-up release, with 37,440,936 shares of restricted stock to be unlocked.

Based on the announcement reposted by Shanghai Securities News, the stock listing type for this release is equity incentive shares, with offline subscription. Additionally, according to Securities Star’s compilation of public information, before this release, the company’s tradable shares totaled 9.999 billion; after the release, the tradable shares will increase to 10.037 billion. The actual tradable shares this time account for approximately 0.373% of the total shares after the lock-up release.

The lock-up release announcement further details the shareholders involved, with “Other incentive targets subtotal” corresponding to 37,043,100 shares, Director and Board Secretary Huang Xiaolong unlocking 106,100 shares, Safety Director Qi Junming, General Manager Wang Jiuhong, and others unlocking 53,000 shares each.

The company’s 2024 non-recurring profit growth compared to 2020 is 112.57%

The core prerequisite for this restricted stock release is that both company-level and individual performance assessments have been met. According to Securities Star, the company’s performance for the third lock-up release period of the 2021 A-share restricted stock incentive plan has been achieved, with net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies after deducting non-recurring gains and losses in 2024 increasing by 112.57% compared to 2020, with a normalized EPS of 2.70 yuan per share.

Regarding individual performance assessments, Shanghai Jintiancheng Law Firm’s legal opinion states that among the 1161 incentive targets, 1158 were rated excellent or good, and 3 were rated as meeting standards, with corresponding unlock coefficients of 1 and 0.8.

Meanwhile, the company announced that it will repurchase and cancel 628,524 shares of restricted stock at a repurchase price of 0.6833 yuan per share, funded by the company’s own capital. This marks the conclusion of the third cycle of the equity incentive plan.

From the perspective of overall operational performance, according to the company’s Q3 2025 report, Yankuang Energy achieved operating revenue of 104.957 billion yuan and net profit attributable to shareholders of 7.120 billion yuan in the first three quarters of 2025. The Q3 performance stabilized and improved, with net profit attributable to the parent reaching 2.288 billion yuan, a 17.82% increase quarter-over-quarter.

Source: Visual China

Strong recent stock performance, industry fundamentals improving

At the time of the lock-up release, Yankuang Energy was active in the secondary market. According to Securities Star, as of the close on March 13, 2026, the stock price was 21.77 yuan, up 12.91% from 19.28 yuan a week earlier. The intraday high on March 13 reached 22.84 yuan, hitting a nearly one-year high.

Additionally, public information shows that over the past three months, Yankuang Energy’s stock price has increased by 61.86%, and over the past year, it has risen by 68.63%, with the stock hitting the daily limit on March 12.

The scale of this lock-up release is relatively limited. According to data from Securities Times, during the week of March 16-22, 2026, among 33 stocks with lock-up releases, Yankuang Energy’s unlocked market value was approximately 815 million yuan. The lock-up type mainly involved equity incentive restricted shares. It was the highest in terms of intra-year increase among the stocks unlocking that week, with a rise of 65.55%.

From an industry perspective, the coal market fundamentals are expected to improve in 2026. Citic Securities research reports indicate that the coal industry may continue to experience weak supply and demand in 2026, but under policy support, coal prices may perform better than in 2025, and profitability and dividend expectations for listed companies are also expected to improve. Shanxi Securities’ 2026 coal industry strategy report suggests that the trend of “anti-involution” will continue, with no significant increase in domestic supply, and that thermal coal may remain in a tight balance in 2026. Guotai Haitong Research predicts that the coal industry will enter a new cycle of upward trend in 2026.

Yankuang Energy is also actively advancing its strategic layout. The company’s Q3 2025 report shows that it completed the consolidation of Northwest Mining in the third quarter of 2025, adding new operational capacity; additionally, according to the official website of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of Shandong Province, the Rongxin Chemical 800,000-ton olefin and other coal chemical projects are scheduled to come into production gradually in 2026, further strengthening its “coal-chemical integration” competitive advantage.

Notably, according to the “Announcement on the Voluntary Commitment of the Controlling Shareholder to Support the High-Quality Development of the Listed Company” issued by Yankuang Energy on April 10, 2025, the controlling shareholder Shandong Energy Group Co., Ltd. has previously committed not to reduce its holdings within 12 months from April 9, 2025, and plans to increase holdings at an appropriate time. This commitment is valid until April 2026.