CATL Launches Record A-Share Buyback Plan, Starts First 200 Billion Yuan Repurchase

CATL said on September 11 that it bought back 604,300 A-share shares through a centralized bidding process on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange for about 200 million yuan, marking the first execution of its 200 billion yuan to 400 billion yuan repurchase plan, according to Jiemian News. The company said the shares will be cancelled and the registered capital reduced, with the buyback funded by its own or self-raised cash and carried out within 12 months after shareholder approval. The 400 billion yuan ceiling is the largest single buyback amount ever announced in the A-share market. CATL said the first repurchase was done at 330.15 yuan to 331.61 yuan per share, below the plan's 573 yuan-per-share cap. The company also said the move reflects confidence in its long-term outlook amid stock-price volatility and concerns about valuation, while its earlier buybacks were mainly used for equity incentives or employee shareholding plans. CATL's shares closed at 330.51 yuan on September 11, down nearly 30% from this year's intraday high of 468.75 yuan in May. Jiemian News reported that investors are watching whether automakers accelerate efforts to reduce reliance on CATL, after Li Auto said on September 7 that all of its models would use self-developed batteries and Xiaomi Auto named CALB and Sunwoda Power as strategic battery partners. Despite the share-price decline, CATL reported first-half revenue of 276.917 billion yuan, up 54.8%, and net profit of 43.284 billion yuan, up 41.98%.