(Yicai Global) July 26 -- Contemporary Amperex Technology, the world’s biggest maker of electric car batteries, reported a report profit for the first half mainly driven by growth at its power and energy storage batteries businesses.

Net profit soared 154 percent to CNY20.7 billion (USD2.9 billion) in the six months ended June 30, the Ningde-based firm said in an earnings report released yesterday. Revenue jumped 68 percent to CNY189.3 billion (USD26.5 billion).

Revenue from the power battery segment jumped 76 percent to equal 73 percent of CATL’s total, while income from the energy storage battery business surged 119 percent, accounting for 15 percent of the total, the firm said. But growth slowed for both compared with a year ago.

CATL’s market share rose to 36 percent in the five months ended May 31, up from 34.3 percent in the same period of last year, according to SNE Research. The firm’s overseas and European market shares stood at 27 percent and 35 percent, respectively, ranking top for two straight months.

CATL’s sales to Tesla nearly doubled to almost CNY28 billion in the first half, according to the earnings report. Tesla has been CATL’s largest client for two years in a row, contributing 11.6 percent to its revenue in 2022 and 14.7 percent in the first half of 2023.

CATL’s investment in research and development soared 71 percent to CNY9.9 billion (USD1.4 billion) in the six months, promoting the gradual industrialization of new technologies and products, including Qilin, sodium, condensed matter, and M3P batteries.

On its earnings conference call, CATL said its tie-up with Beijing-based Li Auto on the first 4C fast-charging Qilin battery is progressing well, with the application scale of the 4C fast-charging technology relying more on carmakers’ model planning than the battery. Producers are willing to launch differentiated competitive products in the long run, and this technology may garner a considerable market share, it added.

CATL has also begun producing power cells at its German plant, and its cooperation with US auto giant Ford is advancing well, it added.

Shares of CATL [SHE: 300750] ended up 0.4 percent at CNY226.66 (USD31.71) apiece today, after earlier dropping by as much as 1.1 percent. The Shenzhen Component Index fell 0.5 percent.

Editor: Martin Kadiev