CATL: 2023 Net Profit Expected to Increase 38%-48% Year-on-Year

Recently, the world's leading battery maker CATL (300750:SZ) announced its 2023 annual performance forecast. It is expected that the net profit attributable to the shareholders of the listed company will reach between CNY 42.5 billion and CNY 45.5 billion, a year-on-year increase of 38.31% to 48.07%. The net profit after deducting non-recurring gains and losses is estimated to be between CNY 38.5 billion and CNY 41.5 billion, a year-on-year increase of 36.46% to 47.09%.

According to CATL, this performance improvement is closely related to the rapid growth of the domestic and international new energy industry, as well as the increased investment and innovation efforts.

At present, the new energy industry at home and abroad maintains a relatively fast growth rate, the market of power battery and energy storage industry continues to grow, and there is a clear trend of transition to clean energy under " carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals", which provides a broad space for the development of CATL. Meanwhile, CATL has continuously increased its investment and innovation effort, and launched industry-leading product solutions and services. 

During the reporting period, the company's new technologies and products have been landed one after another, the expansion of overseas market has been accelerated, the cooperation relationship with customers has been further deepened, and the production and sales volume has grown faster while good economic benefits have been realized.

From the development history of CATL, we can clearly see the trajectory of the company's growth.

In 1999, the founding team established ATL, turning it into a global leader in consumer lithium-ion batteries. In 2011, the founding team started a second venture, establishing CATL, focusing on the research, development, production and sales of new energy vehicle battery systems and energy storage systems. In 2017, CATL established wholly-owned subsidiaries in France, the United States, Canada and Japan. In 2018, CATL was listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

In 2021, CATL released the first generation of sodium-ion batteries, with energy density reaching the highest level globally. It established production bases in multiple locations in China and established new energy research institutes with several well-known domestic universities, further expanding its production and research scope. Additionally, it participated in the construction of the largest grid-side individual battery energy storage station in Europe, the "Minety Energy Storage Station". It also connected the 220MWh liquid-cooled energy storage project in Texas, which marked the first large-scale application of liquid-cooled energy storage solutions globally and was recognized as a "lighthouse factory" by the World Economic Forum.

In 2022, CATL entered the battery swapping industry, launching the battery swapping service brand EVOGO and a comprehensive battery swapping solution.

In 2023, CATL responded to the national call by releasing its zero-carbon strategy and continued to lead among global power battery installation companies. In terms of installed capacity, in China, according to the data from the China Power Battery Industry Innovation Alliance, CATL's installed capacity in 2023 reached 167.1GWh, with a market share of 43.11%, ranking first in the domestic market. Internationally, according to the latest statistics released by SNE Research, CATL's global installed capacity reached 233.4GWh in the first 11 months of 2023, a year-on-year increase of 48.3%, with a market share of 37.4%, maintaining its position as the global leader in electric vehicle battery usage.

CATL's strong performance in overseas markets is a key factor in increasing its global market share.

SNE Research stated that CATL, which is focusing on expanding overseas markets, has nearly doubled year-on-year growth in all continents except China, driven by the decision of major vehicle manufacturers, led by Tesla, to increase the proportion of lithium iron phosphate batteries. The organization predicts that due to CATL's batteries being widely used in various vehicle models, the company is expected to maintain high growth.

Currently, CATL has established five major research and development centers and thirteen major production bases, not only located in Fujian, Jiangsu, Shanghai, and other parts of China, but also has a research and development center in Munich, Germany, and production bases and subsidiaries in Germany, Hungary, the United States, and France.

In the future, CATL will continue to provide first-rate solutions and services for global new energy applications, actively respond to sustainable development goals, and continuously expand its overseas presence based on an innovation system supported by material and material system innovation, system structure innovation, extreme manufacturing innovation, and business model innovation.

As of press time, CATL closed at CNY 149.21 apiece, with a market capitalisation of CNY 656.4 billion.