World’s Biggest Maker Of Electric-Vehicle Batteries Report Profit That Exceed Analyst Estimate

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd., the world’s biggest maker of electric-vehicle batteries and a key supplier to Tesla Inc., reported profit that beat analysts’ estimates as rocketing sales overshadowed a spike in raw material costs.

Net income more than doubled to 3.27 billion yuan ($512 million) in the three months ended Sept. 30 from a year earlier, the Fujian, China-based company said Wednesday. That beat analyst estimates of 2.61 billion yuan. Revenue grew to 29.3 billion yuan.

The company’s shares have rallied to record highs in recent days on the back of deals to secure supplies and customers, and China’s aggressive push into green energy and EVs. The major lithium-iron-phosphate battery supplier for Tesla’s China-made models, CATL is expected to increase sales after Elon Musk’s EV pioneer said it will shift to the cheaper battery for its standard range models to contain costs.

Rising commodities prices, including the materials used by CATL in its batteries, have spurred fears over the impact of inflation on manufacturers. To soothe supply chain constraints, CATL is seeking to be more active upstream and recently agreed to acquire Canada’s Millennial Lithium Corp. to secure supplies of the key battery-making mineral
– Bloomberg