BEIJING – Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL), China’s leading electric vehicle battery manufacturer, announced Wednesday that its first quarter financial performance exceeded analyst predictions, further cementing its position as the world’s top battery supplier.
The company reported quarterly net profits of 20.7 billion yuan ($3.03 billion), representing a 48.5% increase compared to the same period last year. This growth rate, while slightly lower than the 57.1% jump seen in the previous quarter, significantly outpaced analyst expectations of just 20.9% growth according to LSEG polling data.
CATL’s quarterly revenues climbed 52.5% to reach 129.1 billion yuan, substantially higher than the 35.7% increase predicted by four industry analysts and exceeding the 36.6% revenue growth recorded in the fourth quarter.
The battery manufacturer has been aggressively increasing production capacity for energy storage systems (ESS), positioning itself to capitalize on growing demand as nations worldwide accelerate renewable energy development following energy cost spikes triggered by the Iran conflict.
According to SNE Research, CATL’s energy storage battery deliveries surged 80% year-over-year in the previous year, securing the company a 30% portion of the worldwide market.
While energy storage represents a growing segment, electric vehicle batteries continue generating the majority of CATL’s income. The company maintains its global market leadership through partnerships with diverse automotive clients including Tesla, Seres, and Toyota.
Market data from SNE Research indicates CATL strengthened its dominance during the first two months of this year, capturing 42.1% of global EV battery usage compared to 38.7% during the corresponding period last year.
Meanwhile, second-place competitor BYD saw its worldwide market share decline from 16% to 13.4% as the company’s domestic vehicle sales continued falling.
However, Morningstar senior equity analyst Vincent Sun cautioned that automotive manufacturers’ strategies of using multiple suppliers and reducing costs will “dilute CATL’s pricing power and pressure its unit profit.”
Electric vehicle sales in China, the planet’s largest automotive market, remained affected by decreased government incentives last month during an uneven economic recovery, though strong export performance provided some offset.
