** Shares of Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd $(CATL.UK)$ 300750.SZ slip 1.7% to 257.6 yuan, on course for the biggest one-day pct decline March 4
** Shenzhen-listed power battery systems developer and maker reported a 15% growth in 2024 net profit, the slowest pace in six years, as a prolonged price war in China's electric vehicle market put pressure on the Chinese EV battery giant
** Q4 net profit was up 13.6% y/y, slowing from 26% growth in Q3, while revenue shrank by 3.1% y/y narrowing from a 12.5% slide in the previous quarter
** Nomura maintains "buy" rating on the stock and lifts TP to 315 yuan from 300 yuan, saying 4Q earnings are a "slight miss" but leadership unchanged with resilient growth
** The blue-chip CSI 300 Index .CSI300 gains 0.1%, the Shanghai Composite Index .SSEC adds 0.5%
** Stock down 3% YTD
(Reporting by Donny Kwok)
((donny.kwok@thomsonreuters.com))
