Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL) reported a 14.54% increase in third-quarter profit attributable to shareholders, while revenue jumped 58.58% and nine-month operating costs outpaced sales growth.
In its unaudited filing for the quarter ended Sept. 30, the Chinese battery maker put attributable profit at 21.246 billion yuan and revenue at 165.221 billion yuan.
The nine-month figures showed revenue reaching 442.137 billion yuan, up 56.19%, while operating costs climbed 61.61% to 341.695 billion yuan. CATL linked the sales gain to business expansion and said costs rose along with revenue.
Reuters reported that the third-quarter profit increase was CATL’s slowest in nearly two years, following 36.5% growth in the second quarter. Analysts had expected profit growth of 41.2% and revenue growth of 60.2%, according to LSEG SmartEstimate data cited by Reuters. Reuters linked the slower profit growth to competition in China’s battery market and slowing growth in Chinese auto sales.
CATL’s share of global electric-vehicle battery usage rose despite the slower profit growth. SNE Research measured its usage at 333.0 gigawatt-hours for January through August, up 25.2% from a year earlier. Its share increased to 39.4% from 37.7%. The figures cover batteries installed in registered EVs, plug-in hybrids and hybrids across 80 countries.
CATL also introduced a heavy-duty truck system on Oct. 20 that combines a swappable chassis-mounted battery with a 77-kilowatt-hour backup battery. The company said agreements covering 13,000 units were signed at the launch. CATL says users on basic plans could save up to 20% on battery rental costs under its battery-as-a-service model.
The truck initiative follows CATL’s separate automated battery-swapping agreement with Huawei-backed Yinwang. CATL aims for a truck-swapping network totaling 900 stations by the end of 2026 and 2,000 by 2027. It has set a longer-term target of 10,000 stations with partners.
