China battery giant CATL forecasts profit decline in Q1

Source: Xinhua | 2020-04-10

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Ltd. (CATL), China's largest automotive lithium-ion battery maker, forecast a 20 percent to 30 percent year-on-year decline in net profit for the first quarter of 2020 as the COVID-19 epidemic hit the new energy vehicle market.

In a filing to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange Thursday night, CATL said the net profit for the January-March period was estimated between 733 million yuan (about 104 million U.S. dollars) and 838 million yuan, compared to 1.05 billion yuan in the same period a year ago.

The profit decline came as the COVID-19 epidemic and weak auto market resulted in a significant decrease in the installment of automotive batteries and thus, a decline in sales revenue, said CATL, which has partnerships with several foreign and domestic carmakers.