BEIJING, Oct 18 Reuters Chinese electric vehicle battery giant CATL reported a 26 yearonyear rise in thirdquarter profit, a stock filing showed on Friday, accelerating from the previous quarter as it maintains a lead over smaller rivals.

CATL made a net profit of 13.14 billion yuan 1.85 billion in JulySeptember, while its revenue fell 12.5 yearonyear to 92.3 billion yuan.

The profit increase followed a 13.4 rise in the second quarter, while revenues have now fallen for four consecutive quarters.

CATL had a 44 market share as measured by batteries in Chinesemade EVs in September, down 0.4 percentage points from the previous month. The combined market share of secondranked BYD and third placed CALB shrank by 1.4 percentage points to 30.9, according to data from the China Automotive Battery Innovation Alliance.

CATL is also gaining traction in building out overseas capacity, including its lucrative LRS model, Jefferies said in a research report last month, referring to the company sharing battery technology through licensing, royalty and service.

CATL will be in a position to begin booking LRS revenues as quick as end 2024, the investment bank said.

CATL opened an international research and development centre in Hong Kong on Tuesday, its sixth RD facility globally, seven months after its Chairman Robin Zeng revealed such plans to underpin technology exports.

1 7.1025 Chinese yuan renminbi

Reporting by Qiaoyi Li, Zhang Yan, Ethan Wang and Kevin Krolicki; Editing by…