`1/ shareholder return is real
annual dividend of 22bn rmb, out of net income of ~44bn net income -> ~50% payout ratio.
this is also due to scaling back of capex (down 30% yoy in FY23)
2/ growth has slowed to almost zero
q4 gross profit is up only +2% yoy
q4 net income is -1% yoy
however, with utilization up, 2024H2 and beyond should return to growth
3/ barrier in internationalization
both EU and US want to localize the whole value chain, which seems to be a big investment, and involves upstream & downstream companies.
CATL doesn’t see good return and hasn’t done massive capital-heavy investments.
Licensing model is what clients are happy about, which is capital-light for CATL, but growth in net income would be less.