(Yicai) March 10 -- Shares of Contemporary Amperex Technology jumped after the Chinese battery maker reported a 42 percent increase in profit for last year, consolidating its position as the world's biggest maker of electric car batteries.

CATL [SHE: 300750] finished 5.3 percent higher at CNY376.30 (USD54.74) a share in Shenzhen today, while in Hong Kong its stock [HKG: 3750] added 9.3 percent to HKD550 (USD70.29).

Net profit was CNY72.2 billion (USD10.5 billion) in the 12 months ended Dec. 31, the Ningde-based company announced late yesterday. Revenue rose 17 percent to CNY423.7 billion (USD61.5 billion).

Power batteries accounted for 75 percent of revenue, energy storage batteries 15 percent, battery materials and recycling about 5 percent, battery raw materials mining around 1 percent, and other businesses 4 percent, CATL said.

Net cash flow from operating activities topped CNY133.2 billion, with its total cash and trading assets reaching CNY392.5 billion as of the end of 2025. Gross profit margin was a little over 26 percent, while net profit margin stood at 18 percent, both the highest in the past five years.

CATL plans to distribute a cash dividend of CNY69.57 (USD10.07) per 10 shares, before taxes, for a total of CNY31.5 billion, it said.

Lithium battery sales reached 661 gigawatt-hours last year, up 39 percent from 2024, while sales of energy storage batteries rose 29 percent to 121 GWh, CATL noted.

CATL's global market share for power battery usage rose to 39.2 percent from 38 percent, ranking it first in the world for the ninth straight year, the company said, citing statistics from SNE Research. In addition, its market share topped 43 percent in the Chinese market and 30 percent overseas, while its global energy storage battery shipments share was over 30 percent, remaining at the top for five consecutive years.

CATL's lithium battery annual production capacity reached 772 GWh as of the end of last year, with another 321 GWh under construction, continuing to solidify its leading battery supply position.

Research and development costs rose 19 percent to CNY22.2 billion, bringing the total for the past decade to more than CNY90 billion, providing strong support for maintaining core technological leadership and continuous product innovation, CATL noted.

In a separate announcement late yesterday, CATL said it plans to issue up to CNY40 billion of bonds to optimize its debt structure and pare financing costs. The proposal needs shareholders’ approval.

Editor: Martin Kadiev