Good day, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for standing by, and welcome to CBAK Energy Technology third quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. Currently, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Later, we will conduct a question and answer session, and instructions will follow at that time. As a reminder, we are recording today's call. If you have any objections, you may disconnect at this time. Now, I will turn the call over to Jiewei Li, CFO and Secretary of the Board. Mr. Li, please proceed.
Thank you, operator, and hello everyone. Welcome to CBAK Energy's third quarter of 2023 Earnings Conference Call. Joining us today are Mr. Yunfei Li, Chief Executive Officer of CBAK Energy, myself, Chief Financial Officer and Secretary of the Board, and Jennifer, our interpreter. Our general engineer, Mr. Xiujin Tian, will join us for the Q&A section. We released our results earlier today. The press release is available on the company's IR website at ir.cbak.com.cn, as well as from Newswire Services. A replay of this call will also be available in a few hours on our IR website.
Before we continue, please note that today's discussion will contain forward-looking statements made under the safe harbor provisions of the US Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. As such, the company's actual results may be materially different from the expectations expressed today.
Further information regarding these and other risks and uncertainties is included in the company's public filings with the SEC. The company doesn't assume any obligations to update any forward-looking statements, except as required under applicable laws. Also, please note that unless otherwise stated, all figures mentioned during the conference call are in US dollars. With that, let me now turn the call over to our CEO, Mr. Yunfei Li. Mr. Li will speak in Chinese, and I will translate his comments into English. Go ahead, Mr. Li.
[Foriegn language]Thank you, everyone. Thank you for joining our earnings conference call today.
Thank you and hello, everyone. Thank you for joining our earnings conference call today. We are very happy to achieve another outstanding quarter of growth in our battery business. In the third quarter of 2023, our battery business generated revenues of $44.33 million, soaring by 71.51% year-over-year. Compared to the operating loss recorded in the same period last year, during this quarter, we delivered an operating income of $7.58 million and a net income of $7.77 million, which was 6.3 times that of the same period last year.
Of these revenues, 42.81 million came from batteries used in energy storage applications, a surge of 73.5% year-over-year, while 0.4 million came from batteries used in electric vehicles, an increase of 19.5 times year-over-year.
Moreover, revenues from batteries used in light electric vehicles were $1.11 million, down 2.8% year-over-year. For the first nine months of 2023, our battery business generated revenues of $96.16 million, an increase of 44.43% year-over-year, while delivering an operating income of $6.15 million, along with a net income of $6.75 million.
The growth across our financial metrics was primarily attributed to our strong foundation of key clients, particularly high value clients from Europe and the US. Orders from these clients have demonstrated exceptional stability and sustainability. We are confident in sustaining robust performance and profit growth in the upcoming reporting periods. Today, the market still faces various external pressures and challenges, including the global economy slowdown.
We are proud to stand out as one of the few Chinese battery manufacturers achieving rapid growth and profitability amidst the current macro economy environment. Our remarkable performance has garnered substantial interest from private equity investors, who have reached out to us regarding our latest developments.
[Foriegn language]非常感谢. Next, let's take a specific look at the company's business development situation in the third quarter. As our popularity in the global market gradually increases, our order volume also steadily increases. As of November 1, 2023, our Dalian and Nanjing two main battery production bases have already received, but not yet delivered, order amounts of approximately CNY 900 million.
Currently, the Dalian production base's orders are already scheduled to the end of 2024, while the Nanjing production base has also exploded with orders. Future new customers' order demands will need to queue up to proceed, which means that in a very long period of time, our revenue and profit conditions will all maintain a relatively good growth trend.
Let me share a more detailed update on our business initiatives during the third quarter. With our increased visibility and enhanced reputation worldwide, our order volume continued to rise. As of November 1, 2023, we have recorded approximately CNY 900 million in the combined value of orders we have received, but have yet to fulfill across our two main battery production facilities based in Dalian and Nanjing. Currently, orders for the Dalian facility have been scheduled toward the end of 2024, and our Nanjing facility is also overwhelmed.
Incoming orders from new clients will be subject to further scheduling. In other words, both our revenue and profitability will maintain robust growth momentum over an extended horizon.
[Foriegn language] 非常感谢. In terms of previously disclosed customer orders, as of November 1, 2023, we have reached a total order amount of CNY 43,200 with PowerOak, a global leader in the portable power market, which is also the parent company of the portable energy storage brand BLUETTI. Our total order amount with Jiangsu Jinpeng Group, the world's largest two-wheeler and three-wheeler manufacturer, has reached CNY 53,590.
At the same time, our cooperation with Viessmann Group, a well-known European heating and cooling systems manufacturer, has continued to this day. From the beginning of 2023 to November 1, we have received orders from Viessmann totaling EUR 116 million. In addition, in September this year, we reached a cooperation agreement with Anker, one of the world's largest third-party accessory suppliers for Apple, and have successively received orders from Anker, with the current order amount reaching CNY 88,350.
It is understood that Anker's future demand for our batteries is very large, and it is expected that orders will continue in February. It is worth mentioning that the company is still conducting in-depth negotiations and sample deliveries with several major customers in Europe and the U.S. Once there is significant progress, we will promptly update all investors accordingly.
Regarding client initiatives already announced. As of November 1, 2023, our collaboration with PowerOak, the world's leading portable power station manufacturer and parent company of top rated portable power supply brand BLUETTI, has provided us with orders totaling around CNY 43.2 million. We also make great strides in our partnership with Jinpeng Group, the largest manufacturer of scooters and electric tricycles worldwide, generating orders amounting to roughly CNY 53.59 million.
In addition, I want to highlight our continued initiatives with Viessmann Group, a leading European manufacturer of heating and cooling systems. Our productive collaboration has translated into orders totaling up to EUR 116.5 million from the beginning of 2023 to November 1. Another major partner of ours is Anker Innovations, one of the largest third-party accessory suppliers globally for Apple Inc.'s products.
Following our signing in September, we have received orders from Anker Innovations amounting to CNY 58.35 million. It is understood that Anker Innovations will spur significant demand for our batteries and is expected to place monthly orders on a continued basis.
Furthermore, I want to highlight the fact that we have been in deep discussions regarding various corporations, including providing product samples with several major customers from Europe and the U.S. We will keep our investors informed of any significant updates. 非常感谢.
[Foriegn language] 从客户需求的角度出发，我们在产能和研发方面都加大了投入。第三季度，我们的大连和南京两个生产基地都已经具备1 GWh的产能，其中我们的子公司......
Dalian CBAK Power Battery is currently researching and developing 46115 and 46157 model batteries. These new model batteries are larger than the market's attention hotspot 46800 model battery, will have higher energy density and longer lifespan, can perfectly adapt to large energy storage scenarios. Our R&D team is sparing no effort to promote the progress of these projects, expected next year will possess the capability to mass produce 46115 model battery.
This is our 46 series batteries at the Dalian production base, capacity expansion to 15 GWh, further elevating our supply capacity. At the same time, our Nanjing Phase II project is also progressing intensively, the factory corresponding to the first stage that can bear 6 GWh capacity has already been topped out, expected in the near term will deliver, introduce equipment, and very soon put into use.
The company expects next year will have larger total production capacity, to cope with the current supply not meeting demand customer demand, while elevating production efficiency, further promoting company revenue growth.
With a focus on meeting client demands, we scale up our investment in production capacity and R&D. In the third quarter of 2023, both our Dalian and Nanjing facilities have reached a production capacity of 1 GWh. Our subsidiary, Dalian CBAK Power, is currently engaged in the development of Model 46115 and Model 46157 LFP batteries, which are new to the market and larger than the current market favorite Model 46800. With higher energy density and an extended lifespan, these new models are ideal for large-scale energy storage scenarios.
Our R&D team is diligently driving these initiatives forward, and we expect to have the capacity to mass-produce the Model 46115 batteries next year. In the long term plan, we will expand the production capacity for the Series 46 batteries to 15 GWh at the Dalian facility, achieving further supply ramp-up. In the meantime, the construction of our Nanjing Phase Two project has been in full swing.
The factory roof has been completed, which enables 6 GWh of production capacity in the first stage, and we expect this production capability to be delivered, fully equipped and operational soon. Hence, I wish to highlight that we will have greater overall capacity next year to address the current overwhelming client demand. We will elevate our production efficiency and further propel top-line growth.
最后，我来介绍一下有关我们钠离子电池量产的情况。作为目前中国唯一具备量产钠离子电池能力的公司，我们已经与多个投资人就开设钠电工厂项目进行了深度洽谈，有望在近期完成大额的私募融资，并推进规划10 GWh产能的钠电工厂建设。我们相信，随着钠离子电池产业化进程的加速，钠离子电池将成为未来的电动两轮车、低速四轮车、储能电站及家用储能产品等多个领域的重要发展方向。未来我们将不但拥有36 GWh的锂电池产能，同时还具备10 GWh的钠离子电池产能，实现双翼齐飞。我们期待着与投资人、合作伙伴一起共同推动新能源和环保科技产业的发展。
Finally, and importantly, let me walk you through our mass production of sodium-ion batteries. As the only company in China capable of mass producing sodium-ion batteries, we have engaged in extensive discussions with multiple investors on building a sodium-ion battery plant. In the near future, we expect to finalize a substantial amount of private equity financing to expedite the development of our sodium-ion battery plant, with a target production capacity of 10 GWh.
With the accelerated industrial adoption of sodium-ion batteries, we believe it will become a pivotal focus across various subsectors, such as electric scooters, low-speed vehicles, energy storage, power stations, and household energy storage solutions.
Looking ahead, the company will be empowered by a twin-engine growth model, an impressive 36 GWh production capacity of lithium batteries, and a remarkable 10 GWh production capacity of sodium-ion batteries. We look forward to collaborating with our investors and partners to advance the evolution of the new energy sector and environmental protection technologies. Please continue.
Next, please welcome our CFO, Jiewei Li, to give investors a brief introduction to the company's financial performance.
Now let me turn the call over to our CFO, Mr. Li, who will provide details on our financial performance. Thank you, Mr. Li, and thank you everyone for joining our call today. I will now go over our key financial results for the third quarter of 2023. For the full details of our financial results, please refer to our earnings press release. As the battery business returned to year-over-year growth in the third quarter, we also recorded ongoing improvements in gross margin and operating profit margin.
This was underpinned by a sharp increase in the contribution of our higher-margin battery business and a reduction in the cost of revenues as we further leverage our technology to improve production efficiency.
Alongside a growing number of orders for our battery products... We will continue to find the right balance between growth and profitability, while investing in R&D and production capacity expansion to enhance our our sustainable long-term competitiveness. Turning to our financial performance, our net revenue in the third quarter was $63.4 million, representing an increase of 9.9% compared to $57.7 million in the same period of 2022. This increase was primarily attributable to the growth in the company's battery business.
In addition, our net revenue from batteries in the third quarter was $44.3 million, representing a strong growth of 71.5% from the same period in 2022. Our gross margin for the battery business in the third quarter was 26.4%, an increase of 17.7 percentage points from 8.7% in the same period of 2022. The cost of revenues in the third quarter was $51.2 million, representing a decrease of 5.7% from $54.3 million in the same period of 2022.
The decrease in the cost of revenues corresponds to the company's higher gross profit from the batteries segment. Gross profit in the third quarter was $12.2 million, representing an increase of 264% from $3.5 million in the same period of 2022. Gross margin in the third quarter was 19.3%, compared to 6% in the same period of 2022. Our total operating expenses in the third quarter rose by 40.8% to $7 million. Within that, our research and development expenses increased by 8.1% to $2.6 million in the third quarter.
Sales and marketing expenses increased by 33.8% to $1.1 million in the third quarter. General and administration expenses increased by 73.7% to $3.2 million. Our operating income in the third quarter amounted to $5.3 million, compared to an operating loss of $1.5 million in the same period of 2022. The change in the fair value of our warrants in the third quarter was $0.02 million, compared to $0.94 million in the same period of 2022.
As a result, net income attributable to shareholders of CBAK Energy in the third quarter was $6.3 million, compared to net loss attributable to shareholders of CBAK Energy of $290,000 in the same period of 2022. That concludes our prepared remarks. Let's now open the call for questions. Operator, please go ahead.
Thank you. As a reminder to ask a question, please press the star one one on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. To withdraw your question, please press star one one again. One moment for questions. Our first question comes from Brian Lantier with Zacks Small-Cap Research. You may proceed.
Good afternoon, gentlemen. Really impressive performance in light of a challenging operating environment. If I could drill down a little bit more on the power Oak, the uninterruptible power business, do you feel like that was principally in the third quarter, driven by, new customer wins or higher volumes with your existing customer base? And it sounds like going forward, some of the new customers are going to contribute, a larger portion of that growth. Then I'll, I'll follow up with another question after that.
[Foriegn language] 首先呢在挑战性如此之大的外部环境中，我们公司的业绩如此的亮眼，那对此我是表示非常的赞叹的。那除此之外，想问一下，我们在电池业务第三季度的这个亮眼的表現，主要是归因于一些新的客户带来的新的订单呢，还是由于我们现有已经既有的庞大的一个客户基础呢？而且在未来的话，你觉得怎么样的一些客户会为我们的这个销售的增长带来更大的贡献呢？
[Foriegn language] 费总，您回答吧，然后我来补充。
[Foriegn language] 好。
[Foriegn language] 我们这个客户呢，就是刚才说到的第三季度的客户，大部分是我们以前开发的客户，比如大连的客户，南京的客户，这都是说，有持续的增长，我们这里也有，这里也有新客户，新客户也，也带来了一些的，增长，这是这一块，就说，我们这个第三季度的业绩在这里。然后一个，结尾，就是说未来这一块儿说......
[Foriegn language] 对。结尾，接下来再还有一个问题是什麽呢？
[Foriegn language] 还有个问题，就是你为那个我们接下来的那个客户，接下来的订单是不是会有一些新的客户？
[Foriegn language] 接下来的客户这边订单这类，我们因为我们特别是像我们32140这个产品，多数的客户呢，都已经是进入了一个认证完成的阶段，从前面也开始了一个小批量的市场，现在已经逐步导入了那个正式量产，所以未来我们这个客，我们这个产，那个...
[Foriegn language] ...销售业绩还会有持续的增长。
就是 [Foriegn language] 您刚才可以再读一下那个，电子 42130 吗？那个数字。
[Foriegn language] 32140.
[Foriegn language] 321, 32140, right?
[Foriegn language] 对 。
OK.
[Foriegn language] 这是一个，还有一个，就像我们现在现有的一个我们，而且我们的生产线也在扩，和不断的还是在增加了26的产能也在增加，所以我们现在都会给我们带来更高的一个销售。
OK, so in response to your first question, yes, indeed, the growth in our third quarter, partly due to the existing customers that we have. For example, our customers of Dalian and Nanjing have sustainably increased their orders, and that also lead to the growth of our sales volume. Besides that, we also have developed some new customers, who also contribute to the growth of our sales. So this is the situation that you can see in the third quarter.
Besides that, for example, for our model 32140, we have already passed the certification, so as in terms of our production, we have started from a small lot production and gradually transformed into a large-scale mass production. And we also believe that this will contribute to our further sales growth.
In the meantime, we are also expanding our production lines, as well as our production capacity for the 26 series projects. We also believe that this will bring in more sales volumes in the future.
Thank you so much for all of that. And could I, if I could just ask a question about the raw material business? I know in the past there's been some interest from outside investors. Is that something you're still exploring or, you know, I guess just an overall general update on the raw material business and where that stands today.
[Foriegn language] 那，我接下来的这个问题是关于原材料的业务的，那在过去的话呢，其实外部的投资者对于我们原材料的业务也是相当地关注，那目前我们有在拓展这一块的业务吗？或者能不能就以我们原材料的业务情况做一个最新情况的一个介绍呢？
[Foriegn language] 这个 问题 我 来 回答 吧 ， 然后 我 直接 用 英文 回答 ， 就不 用 翻译 了 。
OK。
Brian, I will respond to your questions. As you can see, the industry, the raw material industry is experiencing a slowdown. Almost all the raw material producers are suffering decline in sales volume, same applies to Hitrans our raw material unit. But Hitrans actually has a very, very decent and good client structure, subsidiaries from CATL is also their clients. So we believe that, once the industry recovers, Hitrans will improve their financial performance sharply.
And moreover, we didn't actually integrate Hitrans's business into our battery business, we act only as a financial investors. Their team is completely independent from our team. That's why in our form 10-Q and in our press release, we always separate the financial performance from Hitrans, from our battery business, that's much more reasonable. So as you can say, as you just say, there are a lot of investors getting interested in Hitrans, and we believe that once the industry recovers, they will be good.
So we encourage a lot of the private equity investors. We will also refer a lot of the private equity investors to Hitrans, for the purpose of funding them, to expand their capacity and also to see if we will be able to get a good deal from with those investors.
Thank you so much.
Thank you. And as a reminder, to ask a question, please press star one one on your telephone. One moment for questions. Our next question comes from Fei Wu with TPG. You may proceed.
[Foriegn language] 你好，感谢公司管理层。然后我这边呢，有两个问题想问一下。然后第一个问题是，因为刚刚在咱们电话会议中，公司提到了那个钠电项目正在筹备和组建，然后我想问一下，就是目前从钠电技术储备来讲，是，公司现在处于一个什么阶段，然后咱们的项目落地的状况大概能方便介绍一下吗？
OK, so I would like to pose a question concerning the sodium-ion battery. I'd like to know, you just in your speech, you mentioned that you have all have been engaged in the preparation and the construction of sodium-ion battery. I'd like to know if you can give us more updates about the technology of that, that the company have?...with the sodium-ion battery, if we talk about the project investing in implementation stage, at what stage is this project getting progress? Could you give me also another update?
Tian Zong, come answer this question.
[Foriegn language] 好的，这个问题我来回答一下。首先第一个是关于我们公司现在钠离子电池所处的阶段。现在是这样子的，在今年六月份我们发布第一款钠离子电池，但是我们发布的是量产。所以说现阶段的话，在国内，乃至于国际上，这个第一款量产的这个钠离子电池是在我们这个团队下线的。其他的这个有知名友商，他们有发布钠离子的产品，但是市场上的都没有能得到。而且我们现在的钠离子电池的话呢，在今年完成了这个装车公告，而且在有这个国内的大公司已经在用品牌子上已经进行这种装车，
[Foriegn language] 效果都是非常不错的。我们钠离子电池的话呢，基本都是在2,000多周，3,000周的样子。现在的话呢，是完全稳定了一个产品体系了，这是第一个问题。第二个问题，就是钠电，那落地情况是，我们现在这个钠电项目的话呢，是非常抢手的一个项目，因为国内的话呢，在行的这个就是相对来说的目标的话呢，我们这个应该说是比较非常不错的一个目标，因为大多数的这个，这个团队的话呢，都属于是创业团队，或者说是产品刚刚有样品的阶段，而我们
[Foriegn language] 的这个产品的话呢，是具备0.5 G产能，我们已经把它已经变成产品了，所以说现在扩大生产 状态的这么一个，一个阶段。那么现在有， 4个政府以及我们正在对接，现在我们正在优中选优，力求的话呢，是在近期，选择其中一家的话呢进行落地。这样子的话呢，我们在明年会陆续地释放出，更大产能的这个钠离子电池。预计的话呢，我们在这个项目中能释放出10个 G产能的钠离子电池，将会满足我们一堆客户的这个，这个客户的这个订单需求。以上。
[Foriegn language] 您刚才说是4个政府还是4个客户，那个-
[Foriegn language] 4个地方，我们现在选地方落地。啊，地方，对。
[Foriegn language] 地方，OK，就是，去建立那个生产线的那个地方是吗？的落地。
[Foriegn language] 是的。
OK. In response to your first question, well, for sodium-ion battery in June this year, we released the first sodium-ion battery products, and this is we can say that in China, we are the first company to realize the mass production of sodium-ion battery. And although in the market, some of the competitors also announce that they are doing the research or production of these sodium-ion battery products. However, we are the company that really can realize a mass production.
And this year, we also achieved the installation of this sodium-ion battery in the vehicle, and the effect turned out to be really satisfactory. And for our battery products, it can realize 2,000 to even more than 3,000 rounds. So we can say we have already a stable product system in place.
the production line, construction, well, we can say our company and our products is very popular. In the market, there were some other competitors, but they are only at a very early stage. For example, they only have a start-up teams or they only have some samples. However, for us, for our company, CBAK have managed to come up with a product with 0.5 GWh, and the production capacity will be expanded in the future.
So, at present, partners have approached us, and we are trying to select one place, what we can say local governments have approached us, we are trying to select one place for the construction of the production line, and we are trying to select the best from the four. Then in the next year, we are even going to expand our production capacity to be as high as 10 GWh. In that case, it will put us in a better position to cater to the demand of our customers.
[Foriegn language] 好的，谢谢。我的第二个问题是，近期我们有关注到公司和安克成为了比较好的合作伙伴，然后想了解一下安克给予我们公司未来的需求大概是多大，然后，能方便大概介绍一下预期吗？
And in your introduction you mentioned about mentioned that, CBAK has become a business partner of Anker Innovations, and I'd like to know how big of the order volume of Anker will be. And can you also share with us your expectation for your partnership with Anker?
[Foriegn language] 云飞总来回答吧。
[Foriegn language] 这是一个什么样问题呢？请帮你翻译一下。
[Foriegn language] 问一下安克的一个预期，然后它未来的一个供货量有多大。
安克 [Foriegn language] 的是这样的，我们现在这个安克几个产品现在已经陆续地他们都已经开模了，可能未来有7-8个产品都是在用我们的产品。现在呢，它的客户呢，经过小试阶段的时候，反应非常好，现在已经是出口，欧美、印度、日本。所以呢，现在呢，这次呢，我们前几天和安克又进行了一个深度的交流。我们近期可能是未来的时候，现在，可能 是85，现在可能是每个月在50万左右，未来可能是要到80万到120万左右吧，每个月。
[Foriegn language] 呃 。
[Foriegn language] 那 是 这 个 ， 这 个 。
[Foriegn language] 科。500,000颗吗？
500,000 batteries.
OK。
[Foriegn language] 这个我补充一下，就是50万颗的话呢，接近$20 million的货值。100万颗的话，就是接近$40 million的货值。
US dollar, ha.
Ah, renminbi.
Ah, Renminbi.
renminbi.
So at present, Anker has already finished the opening of models here with our factory, and 7-8 products of Anker will use our battery. And actually, they started their pilot production here, and the results turned out to be great. That is why they decided to export the products to Europe, the United States, America, the States, Japan and India. And we already have an in-depth communication with Anker, talking about future cooperation, and talking about deepening our future cooperation.
And because that, if we have a look at the expectation for the order volume, at present, it's about 500,000 items, with an order value of about CNY 20 million, and in the future, it will be increased to, it is expected to be increased to 800,000-1.2 million items, and that is with an order value of about CNY 40 million.
Thank you. Seeing no more questions in the queue. Let me turn the call back to Mr. Yunfei Li for closing remarks.
[Foriegn language] 最终结束语。 没错，非常感谢各位参加，我们期待下一次报告的时候再见。
Thank you operator, and thank you all for participating in today's call and for your support. We appreciate your interest and look forward to reporting to you again next quarter on our progress.
Thank you all again. This concludes the call. You may now disconnect.