EV Battery Giant CATL Profit Surges 560% as Lithium Cost Drops

BEIJING, April 20 (TMTPOST)— Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL), the No.1 electric vehicle (EV) batter maker in the world, posted stronger-than-expected growth in the start of the year, a typical off-season of the auto market.

Source:Visual China

CATL’s revenue in the quarter ended March 31 increased 82.91% year-over-year (YoY) to RMB89.04 billion (US$13 billion), beating the analysts’ estimates of RMB75.1 billion, according to a statement on Thursday. Diluted earnings per share (EPS) that quarter jumped 527.87% to RMB4.02, and the net income grew much stronger to RMB9.82 billion, with the new record YoY growth of 557.97%.

This is an extraordinary rally either on the basis of YoY or quarter-over-quarter (QoQ). CATL’s YoY growth in profit cooled to 60.6% in the fourth quarter last year. The first quarter that year saw the company’s net income fell 23.62% to RMB14.9 billion, hit by charge of RMB1.79 billion derivatives liability. The gross profit margin in the starting quarter this year stood at 21.27%, roughly flat versus the same period last year, and the net margin reached 11.32%, up 7.26 percentage points from a year ago. That compares with the decline of 12.8 points and 8.26 points in the corresponding quarter last year, respectively.

CATL’s performance is much more impressive when the auto industry is struggling with boost demand through intensified price cuts. Sales of new energy vehicles (NEV), including battery electric vehicle and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, increased 26.2% YoY in the first quarter of this year, a significant slowdown compared with the annual growth of 93.4% in 2022, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).

The surprising rapid growth of CATL undoubtedly benefited from ease of the elevated material cost, especially from cost of lithium carbonate, an industrial chemical that is mainly used in lithium-ion batteries. The company’s profitability was no longer subdued as the price of lithium carbonate dived. In the first three months of the year, battery-grade lithium carbonate plunged to RMB245, 000 per ton, well below the average price of RMB485, 000 in 2022, with a quarterly decline of 60%.

CATL announced on Thursday to scale up investment in Indonesia, home to many of the precious ingredients found in electric car batteries. The Tesla supplier planned to raise RMB4 billion in capital for projects in Indonesia.  

Last April, CATL’s subsidiary signed a framework agreement with PT Aneka Tambang (ANTAM) and PT Industri Baterai Indonesia (IBI) to cooperate on the Indonesia EV Battery Integration Project, which includes nickel mining and processing, EV battery materials, EV battery manufacturing, and battery recycling. With a joint investment of US$5.97 billion, the project will further enhance CATL’s footprint in the battery industry, ensure the supply of upstream raw materials and resources, lower manufacturing cost, and promote the development of the battery recycling business, CATL said.

The chairman Robin Zeng called the project “an important milestone for CATL as we expand our global footprint”, and expect it to become “an emblem of the everlasting friendship between China and Indonesia.”

The Indonesia Investment Authority (INA), the country’s sovereign wealth fund, was going to create a green EV fund of at least US$2 billion with CATL and CMB International, INA CEO Ridha Wirakusumah said in November.

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