(Yicai Global) Feb. 26 -- Wuxi Lead Intelligent Equipment said a new cooperation deal with auto battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology is likely to bring about CNY27.7 billion (USD4.3 billion) in operating revenues in the next three years. CATL bought into the Chinese lithium-ion battery equipment supplier last September.

CATL will give Lead contracts worth 50 percent of the amount used to buy core production equipment for power battery cells in the next three years, Wuxi-based Lead said in a statement today, citing a deal the pair signed yesterday.

The agreement is set to bring as much as CNY24.7 billion worth of new orders in the next three years, according to Lead, which will not only expand the firm’s market size, but also significantly boost sales.

Lead had operating revenue of CNY4.2 billion in the first nine months of last year, with net profit attributable to the parent company of CNY640 million (USD99.1 million), its third-quarter earnings results showed.

Under the private placement deal inked in September, CATL agreed to pay CNY2.5 billion for 7.29 percent of Lead, with the new shares priced at CNY36.05 (USD5.60) each.

Ningde-based CATL, the world's No. 1 power battery maker, is still actively expanding its capacity. In the last two months, the firm announced plans worth about CNY78.5 billion to expand production bases in China. The capacity increase means that CATL's demand for lithium-ion equipment will be strong over the next three years.

Lead also provides lithium-ion battery gear to other leading battery firms including LG, Panasonic and Northvolt, with BYD and Tesla also among its well-known clients.

Lead’s shares [SHE: 300450] edged up 0.4 percent today to end the week at CNY83.9, having gained about 90 percent since the September deal with CATL.

Editor: Tom Litting