亿纬锂能：利润率持续改善，储能业务快速增长

Investment Rating - The investment rating for the company is "Buy" [1] Core Views - The company has maintained its investment rating, indicating confidence in its future performance despite a slight decrease in revenue and net profit for the first three quarters of 2024 compared to the previous year [4][5] - The company's energy storage business has shown significant growth, with a 115.57% year-on-year increase in battery shipments [4] - The company is expected to achieve net profits of 43.35 billion, 54.26 billion, and 64.20 billion yuan for the years 2024, 2025, and 2026 respectively, with corresponding P/E ratios of 23.33, 18.64, and 15.75 [5][6] Financial Performance Summary - For the first three quarters of 2024, the company reported revenue of 340.49 billion yuan, a decrease of 4.16% year-on-year, and a net profit of 31.89 billion yuan, down 6.88% year-on-year [4] - In Q3 2024, the company achieved revenue of 123.90 billion yuan, a decrease of 1.30% year-on-year, but a slight increase of 0.39% quarter-on-quarter [4] - The gross margin and net margin for Q3 2024 improved to 19.01% and 9.09% respectively, compared to 15.56% and 8.85% in Q2 2024 [4] Business Segment Performance - The energy storage segment has become a key growth driver, with shipments of energy storage batteries reaching 35.73 GWh in the first three quarters of 2024, marking a 115.57% increase year-on-year [4] - The company's power battery shipments for the same period were 20.71 GWh, reflecting a 4.96% year-on-year increase, although impacted by lower-than-expected sales from major customers [4] Supply Chain and Globalization - The company is accelerating the globalization of its supply chain, establishing a comprehensive coverage of the lithium battery materials industry chain [5] - A nickel and cobalt production project in Indonesia has commenced operations, expected to produce approximately 120,000 tons of nickel and 15,000 tons of cobalt annually, enhancing the company's competitive edge in raw material supply [5]