BEIJING :Chinese electric vehicle battery giant CATL saw net profit growth accelerate in the third quarter, even as it faced increased competition from smaller rivals.
Net profit rose 41.2 per cent to 18.5 billion yuan ($2.6 billion) in the July-September period from a year earlier, picking up from a 33.7 per cent increase in the second quarter, according to a stock filing on Monday.
Revenue rose 12.9 per cent year on year to 104.2 billion yuan, up from a 8.3 per cent gain in the second quarter.
CATL still leads the pack in global EV battery usage, though its share fell to 36.8 per cent in the first eight months from 37.7 per cent in the year-ago period, according to SNE Research. By comparison, Chinese EV maker BYD which also manufactures batteries in-house, took up 18 per cent share of the global market versus 16.2 per cent a year earlier, buoyed by an expansion in the European market. CATL, which supplies automakers including Tesla, Volkswagen and Xiaomi has also continued overseas expansion, with its new plant in Hungary expected to start production by early next year. However, Beijing issued new export controls on lithium battery parts that will require exporters to seek permits from November, casting uncertainty over CATL’s future efforts to venture into overseas markets.
($1 = 7.1230 Chinese yuan renminbi)
