BEIJING (Reuters) -Chinese electric vehicle battery giant CATL reported a 26% year-on-year rise in third-quarter profit, a stock filing showed on Friday, accelerating from the previous quarter as it maintains a lead over smaller rivals.
CATL made a net profit of 13.14 billion yuan ($1.85 billion) in July-September, while its revenue fell 12.5% year-on-year to 92.3 billion yuan.
The profit increase followed a 13.4% rise in the second quarter, while revenues have now fallen for four consecutive quarters.
CATL had a 44% market share as measured by batteries in Chinese-made EVs in September, down 0.4 percentage points from the previous month. The combined market share of second-ranked BYD and third placed CALB shrank by 1.4 percentage points to 30.9%, according to data from the China Automotive Battery Innovation Alliance.
CATL is also gaining traction in building out overseas capacity, including its lucrative LRS model, Jefferies said in a research report last month, referring to the company sharing battery technology through licensing, royalty and service.
“CATL will be in a position to begin booking LRS revenues as quick as end 2024,” the investment bank said.
CATL opened an international research and development centre in Hong Kong on Tuesday, its sixth R&D facility globally, seven months after its Chairman Robin Zeng revealed such plans to underpin technology exports.
($1 = 7.1025 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Reporting by Qiaoyi Li, Zhang Yan, Ethan Wang and Kevin Krolicki; Editing by Tomasz Janowski and Mark Potter)
