by JIANG Yiman

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL, 300750.SZ), the world's largest EV battery maker, reported a 41% rise in third-quarter profit, lifted by stronger overseas demand and investment gains that offset weaker margins in China's slowing EV market.

Nine-month net profit rose 36.2% from a year earlier to 49.03 billion yuan (about US$6.9 billion), on revenue of 283.07 billion yuan, the company said late Monday. Third-quarter net income was 18.55 billion yuan, up 41%, on revenue of 104.19 billion yuan, up 12.9%.

Overseas strength and investment gains

CATL booked 5.42 billion yuan in non-recurring gains through September, mainly from investment income and fair-value changes in financial assets. Investment income rose 67.5% to 5.24 billion yuan, while impairment losses narrowed 38.7% to 4.08 billion yuan after last year's mining-asset write-downs.

Trading financial assets more than tripled to 43.26 billion yuan from end-2024 as CATL increased purchases of wealth-management products. In July, it lifted its annual ceiling for entrusted investments to 80 billion yuan to enhance capital efficiency.

Strong cash flow and expansion drive

Operating cash flow rose 19.6% to a record 80.66 billion yuan, far above net profit. Investment outflows totaled 57.29 billion yuan, reflecting capacity expansion and equity investments. Financing cash flow turned positive at 4.28 billion yuan after proceeds from the Hong Kong share sale, which boosted capital reserves by 33.9%.

Inventories rose 34.1% to 80.21 billion yuan, while construction-in-progress increased to 37.37 billion yuan, reflecting continued capacity build-out. Contract liabilities jumped 46.1% to 40.68 billion yuan, pointing to strong customer demand. CATL ended the quarter with 324.24 billion yuan in cash and equivalents.

R&D and industry outlook

R&D spending rose 15.3% to 15.07 billion yuan, as CATL continued investing in next-generation battery chemistries and energy-storage systems.

Analysts said the results underscored CATL's global lead even as domestic competition intensifies from rivals such as BYD and EVE Energy. They added that solid cash flow and growing overseas exposure could help buffer the company from price pressure in China's maturing EV market.

Founded and chaired by ZENG Yuqun, CATL supplies automakers including Tesla, BMW and leading Chinese EV brands. Its Shenzhen shares rose 2.33% on Oct 20 to 366.5 yuan, while its Hong Kong-listed stock added 1.25% to HK$528. The shares are up about 20% this year on optimism over global energy-storage demand and overseas growth.