April 15, 2026: Lead battery major Leoch International turned from profit to a loss of Rmb191 million ($28 million) in 2025 against a backdrop of US trade tariffs and global economic turmoil.

Trade frictions, geopolitical conflicts and exchange rate fluctuations all contributed to operating pressure, Leoch said in annual results released on March 31.

However, the loss was less than the Rmb300 million forecast by the group earlier this year, after posting a profit of Rmb600 million in 2024.

Revenue edged up 7% to more than Rmb17 million while cost of sales increased to more than Rmb15 million (up from around Rmb14 million in the prior year), driven by US import tariffs as well as the commissioning of workshops and trial production of new products.

Leoch said revenue from its core source — data centers and network power batteries — increased by more than 4% to around Rmb7 million, accounting for more than 40% of the group’s total revenue.

Ongoing global investment in data centers over the next five years is projected to be $3 trillion, presenting clear growth opportunities for the industry, according to the group.

Revenue from the group’s second product line, SLI batteries, amounted to around Rmb6 million in 2025, a year-on-year increase of around 9%, accounting for 37.5% of total revenue.

There was also steady growth in the group’s EMS smart energy management products, while Leoch said it continued to focus on upgrades of high-power batteries, gel battery, valve-regulated sealed battery and integrated battery management systems.

The ESS business, which Leoch said is its “future core growth engine”, continued to accelerate, although specific figures were not disclosed.

Revenue from motive power batteries dipped 3% to Rmb1.4 million.

Meanwhile, the group said despite substitution pressure from lithium batteries in the new energy vehicle sector, Leoch launched dual configurations of lead acid and lithium products to give customers a wider choice.

Leoch’s recycled lead business garnered around Rmb1.8 million, a year-on-year increase of more than 8% and accounted for over 10% of the group’s total revenue.