BEIJING, (Reuters) – Net profit growth at China’s CATL slowed sharply in the third quarter, hit by fierce competition in the electric vehicle battery market as China’s auto sales growth cooled.
- Net profit at the world’s largest EV battery maker rose 14.5% from a year earlier to 21.2 billion yuan ($3.17 billion), according to a stock exchange filing on Tuesday, well below analysts’ estimate of a 41.2% increase based on LSEG SmartEstimate data
- The third-quarter net profit growth, which follows a 36.5% rise in the second quarter, is the slowest in nearly two years
- Revenue climbed 58.6% year-on-year to 165.2 billion yuan, undershooting forecasts for a 60.2% increase, after growing 56.9% in the previous quarter
- The EV battery specialist on Tuesday unveiled a new generation of batteries for heavy-duty trucks and announced plans to expand its battery-swapping network
- CATL, which broadened supplies to overseas automakers, accounted for 39.4% of global EV battery usage in the first eight months of the year, up from 37.7% a year earlier, while second-ranked BYD’s share slipped to 15.1% from 17.1%, industry data showed
- CATL’s share of China’s power battery installation market fell to 40.9% in September from 49.8% in January, while BYD increased its share to 21.1% from 17.4%, according to industry data.
- While China’s domestic auto market extended a 12-month downturn in September, exports continued to support industry growth as manufacturers expanded abroad
- CATL expects energy storage to contribute half of its global revenue by 2030, up from about a quarter currently, Reuters reported in June
($1 = 6.6779 Chinese yuan renminbi)
Reporting by Qiaoyi Li, Yukun Zhang, Zhang Yan and Ju-min Park; Editing by Louise Heavens
