With the successful construction of the German factory project, CATL has turned its vision to more places overseas.
On August 13, CATL announced that it plans to build a 100GWh power battery system production line in Hungary, with an investment of no more than 7.34 billion euros (about 50.9 billion yuan).
Zeng Yuqun, chairman of CATL, said: “The new factory will further enhance our competitiveness and help us better respond to the needs of European customers, thereby accelerating the electrification transformation in Europe.”
The reporter found that the production line built by CATL in Hungary this time is the company’s largest investment in an overseas project.
In April, CATL announced that the company plans to invest in the construction of a power battery industry chain project in Indonesia, with a total investment of no more than US$5.968 billion (about 40.2 billion yuan).
It should be noted that at present, with the resignation of “number two” Huang Shilin, Zeng Yuqun has “one-shouldered” the two positions of chairman and general manager of Ningde era.
The largest overseas investment project was born
CATL was established in 2011 and is now the world’s leading power battery and energy storage battery company.
According to SNE Research statistics, CATL ranked first in the world in terms of power battery usage for five consecutive years from 2017 to 2021. In 2021, CATL’s power battery usage market share will reach 32.6%.
Since it is a global leader, CATL should also have a global vision.
On August 13, Ningde Times announced that Ningde Times New Energy Technology (Hungary) Project Management Co., Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company’s consolidated financial statements, will be the main body of the project to build a 100GWh power battery system production line in Hungary, with an investment amount not exceeding 73.4 100 million euros (about 50.9 billion yuan) (subject to actual investment), and the source of funds is self-raised by the enterprise.
The announcement shows that the total construction period of the above-mentioned projects is expected to be no more than 64 months (the actual construction situation shall prevail), and the first factory building will start construction in 2022 after obtaining relevant approvals.
The reporter found that the production line built by CATL in Hungary this time is the company’s largest investment in an overseas project.
CATL stated that this investment will further improve the company’s overseas production capacity layout. However, due to the large-scale construction of the project, there is a risk that the project will not be completed on schedule or that the construction cost will be higher than expected. In addition, this investment still needs to be approved or filed by the company’s general meeting of shareholders and the Chinese and Hungarian governments and relevant departments, and there are certain uncertainties.
Overseas revenue of 27.8 billion accounted for 21.38%
In fact, since 2022, CATL has also been accelerating its progress in “going overseas”.
On April 4, CATL’s first overseas factory in Thuringia, Germany officially obtained the battery cell production license, marking a milestone step in CATL’s global layout.
It is understood that the German factory of CATL plans to invest a total of 1.8 billion euros with a planned production capacity of 14GWh. The factory is also the first battery factory in Germany and is currently in the stage of equipment installation.
On April 15, Ningde Times also announced that Ningbo Puqin Times Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of the company’s holding subsidiary Guangdong Bangpu Cycle Technology Co., Ltd., plans to invest in the construction of a power battery industry chain project in Indonesia. The construction period of the project is 5 years (2022-2026) (the actual construction situation shall prevail).
At present, the total investment amount determined for the above projects does not exceed 5.968 billion US dollars (about 40.2 billion yuan) or equivalent currency.
At the end of May, CATL also reached a cooperation with the European electric bus company Solaris, which will provide lithium batteries to promote the electrification of buses and contribute to reducing carbon emissions and air pollution in Europe.
In addition, recently, it was reported that CATL decided to postpone the announcement on the North American factory until September or October. However, CATL declined to comment for the time being.
The 2021 annual report shows that the overseas operating income of CATL reached 27.872 billion yuan, accounting for 21.38% of the total revenue, an increase of 252.47% over the previous year.
Zeng Yuqun, chairman and general manager of “one shoulder to shoulder”
In recent years, the performance of CATL has grown rapidly.
From 2019 to 2021, the operating income of CATL was 45.788 billion yuan, 50.319 billion yuan and 130.356 billion yuan respectively, a year-on-year increase of 54.63%, 9.90% and 159.06% respectively.
Recently, Ningde Times announced that it plans to grant a total of 5,134,064 shares/10,000 shares to incentive objects, with amortization costs of about 850 million yuan.
The assessment objectives for the five-phase exercise of the CATL stock option incentive plan are: the operating income value in 2022 shall not be less than 230 billion yuan; the cumulative operating income value in 2022 and 2023 shall not be less than 510 billion yuan; The cumulative operating income value of the three-year period from 2024 shall not be less than 850 billion yuan; the cumulative operating income value of the four-year period from 2022 to 2025 shall not be less than 1.26 trillion yuan; the cumulative operating income value of the five-year period from 2022 to 2026 shall not be less than 1.75 trillion yuan.
Based on this calculation, the revenue target of CATL in 2022 is a year-on-year increase of about 76.5%. In the first quarter, the company’s revenue reached 48.678 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 153.97%.
It should be noted that on August 1, Ningde Times announced that the company’s board of directors recently received a written resignation application from Huang Shilin, the company’s vice chairman and deputy general manager. , Member of the Strategy Committee of the Board of Directors and Deputy General Manager.
Huang Shilin is not only a co-founder-level veteran, but also the second largest shareholder of CATL, holding a 10.61% stake in CATL.
Regarding the whereabouts of Huang Shilin after his departure, CATL responded, “Huang Shilin will explore business opportunities in the emerging field of ‘optical storage, charging and inspection’, and may form strategic synergy with the company in the future to jointly promote the development of the new energy industry.”
On August 1, Ningde Times also announced that it agreed to appoint Zeng Yuqun as the general manager of the company, and Zhou Jia, the former general manager of the company, took over the position of vice chairman.
As a result, Zeng Yuqun “shouldered” the two positions of chairman and general manager of CATL.