The world’s largest EV battery maker warned that it expects to report less revenue in 2024 than the previous year, sending share prices down on Wednesday. CATL (SHE: 300750) stock dipped after its 2024 Annual Performance Forecast was released. Here’s a preview of CATL’s financials for last year.

CATL stock falls on lower 2024 revenue expectations

CATL released the forecast in a filing with the Shenzen Stock Exchange late Tuesday, previewing its full-year 2024 financials.

The battery giant expects annual revenue of between RMB 356 billion ($48.9 billion) and RMB 366 billion ($50.3 billion), suggesting an 11.20% to 8.71% decrease from 2023. This would mark CATL’s first time reporting lower annual revenue than the year before.

CATL said that although sales volume was up, the lower expectations were due to falling raw material prices, including lithium carbonate. Despite this, the company still expects to post annual net income of RMB 49 billion ($6.7 billion) to RMB 53 billion ($7.3 billion), which would be up 11.06% to 20.12% from 2023.

Excluding non-recurring gains and losses, CATL expects net profit attributable to shareholders between RMB 44 billion ($6 billion) and RMB 47 billion ($6.5 billion), up 9.75% to 17.23% from 2023.

CATL said the higher net profits were “mainly due to the company’s technological research and development capabilities.” It also said the competitiveness of its products continues to increase.

After launching a series of new products and technology while expanding its partnerships last year, CATL expects “steady growth” in performance.

Just yesterday, a local report from Jieman claimed CATL expected to announce plans for yet another EV battery plant in Europe as it expands its global reach. The new facility would be in addition to the one revealed last month with Stellantis and CATL’s fourth in Europe.

According to SNE Research, CATL remained the world’s largest EV battery maker, commanding 36.8% of the global market through the first 11 months of 2024.

CATL launched its new Bedrock Chassis last month, which it calls “the world’s first ultra-safe” EV skateboard chassis. It’s also aggressively expanding its EV battery swap plans with a new line of Choco-SEB batteries, which make swapping even quicker than filling a gas tank (within 100 seconds).

Despite the confidence and higher net profits, CATL’s stock slipped around 2% on Wednesday following the lower revenue expectations.

CATL shares are still up nearly 70% over the past 12 months, as the EV battery leader launched new products and expanded its global market lead.

Electric submersible specialist U-Boat Worx has unveiled bonafide images of its flagship electric “Super Sub.” The revamped model, designed to provide customers luxury, speed, and depth at sea, has officially been launched and is available to interested marine explorers.

U-Boat Worx is a Dutch submersible manufacturer that has become one of the industry leaders in luxury electric sub design.

The company has introduced nine different electric submarine series. These include the nine-passenger NEXUS series we previously covered and a three-passenger Super Sub, which first debuted in 2021.

In the fall of 2022, we shared that U-Boat Worx redesigned the all-electric Super Sub to bolster its speed below the water’s surface. It claimed its updated version could cruise as quickly as 10 knots, 3-4 knots faster than the bottlenose dolphin.

U-Boat Worx originally planned to launch the revamped version of the Super Sub in 2023. Over a year later, it officially unveiled the luxury electric sub with new, genuine images of the vessel instead of renderings.

U-Boat Worx begins sales of its electric Super Sub

U-Boat Worx shared the images seen above alongside a press release detailing the official (late) launch of its three-passenger Super Sub. As you can see, the design features a droplet-shaped hull and advanced wing configurations, which, according to U-Boat Worx, helps make it one of the most hydrodynamic submersibles ever crafted.

The electric sub’s streamlined design is complimented by a four-thruster propulsion system that delivers 100 kW of thrust and speeds up to 9 knots (~10 mph) underwater. The vessel can also complete 45-degree climbs and “impressive inclined underwater maneuvers.” Roy Heijdra, Marketing Manager at U-Boat Worx, elaborated:

The Super Sub is a marvel of engineering and luxury. It’s more than a submersible — it’s a first-class ticket to explore the ocean like never before, combining speed, safety, and sophistication in every dive.

In terms of interior luxury, U-Boat Worx says the electric Super Sub offers a comparable experience to first-class travel – a step up from the “business-class comfort” of its other models.

Inside, two passengers and a pilot can enjoy spacious and ergonomic seating with a five-point harness system for comfort and safety during the electric sub’s high-speed maneuvers using a unique SHARC controller developed for the Super Sub to deliver intuitive maneuverability at any angle or pitch. Looking outward, a panoramic ultra-clear acrylic hull offers passengers 360-degree views.

The Super Sub is powered by a 62 kWh battery pack that offers up to 8 hours of exploration using electric propulsion and hydrofoil technology. If you’re wondering how much a luxury three-passenger electric submarine costs, well we’re not sure either. We asked, but U-Boat Worx says it only shares pricing with its applicants. Do any billionaires want to apply and report back? Thanks

Polestar CEO Michael Lohscheller sees Elon Musk’s politics as an opportunity to steal sales from Tesla as many owners are looking at other electric vehicles.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s meddling in politics hasn’t been winning him many fans outside of the US lately. In Germany, we reported on a boycott effort that is gaining ground.

Michael Lohscheller, Polestar’s CEO, sees it as an opportunity.

Being German himself, he finds Musk comments promoting AfD, a far-right party in Germany, “unacceptable”. He said in a Bloomberg interview:

“For Germany, somebody outside of Germany endorsing right-wing political parties is a big thing. You want to know what I think about it? I think it’s totally unacceptable. Totally unacceptable. You just don’t do that. This is pure arrogance, and these things will not work.”

The CEO says that a lot of people are turning on Tesla because of this.

We get a lot of people writing that they don’t like all this. It’s important to listen closely to what they say. And I can tell you, a lot of people have very, very negative sentiment.

Some surveys showed as many as a third of Tesla owners have sold or are looking to sell their vehicles due to Elon Musk’s antics.

That could indeed be an opportunity for Polestar and the company needs it.

Sales have been lacking behind target and its stock has suffered – 92% of its value since going public.

It managed to secure some funding late last year and scaled back spending to extend its capacity to operate. It now plans to go to a more traditional dealership model to move cars.

But the biggest difference maker is the expanding lineup of vehicles that Polestar is launching.

Electrek’s Take

It is certainly an opportunity. I’m seeing more and more Tesla owners saying that they would never buy another Tesla.

Those people aren’t likely to go back to a gas car, and therefore, it is an opportunity for all other EV automakers.

I haven’t had a lot of time in Polestar vehicles. I think they look cool, but my opinion stops there. I am going to test them all next month and I will report back.