CLSA has released a research report announcing an increase in the target price for CATL's H-shares from HK$710 to HK$740. The target price for CATL's A-shares was also raised from RMB 505 to RMB 515. The firm reaffirmed its High Conviction Outperform rating on the stock.
CATL reported a net profit of RMB 20.7 billion for the first quarter of this year, representing a 49% year-on-year increase but a 10% decline compared to the previous quarter. The report noted that despite rising lithium prices since the beginning of the year, the company demonstrated resilience, with Q1 results slightly exceeding expectations.
The company's gross profit margin for the first quarter was 24.8%, up 0.4 percentage points year-on-year but down 3.4 percentage points quarter-on-quarter. While this was slightly below expectations, it performed better than market concerns had suggested. The report anticipates that 2026 will mark the low point for gross margins and expects margin improvement from the second quarter onward, driven by cost pass-through.
CLSA has raised its earnings per share forecasts for the group by 2% to 3% for the years 2026 to 2028.
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