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BYD flags surge in quarterly profit

Writer:   |  Editor: 张阐文  |  From: Shenzhen Daily  |  Updated: 2022-10-19

BYD Co., China’s biggest electric vehicle (EV) maker, said third-quarter net profit likely more than quadrupled due to robust sales and a better product mix, sending its shares surging.

In a stock exchange release late Monday, Shenzhen-based BYD estimated that net profit for the July-September quarter came in 5.5 billion-5.9 billion yuan (US$765 million-US$820 million), or an increase of 333% to 365.1% from the same period a year earlier.

For the first nine months of the year, the company projected net profit of between 9.10 billion yuan and 9.50 billion yuan, compared with 2.44 billion yuan a year ago.

BYD is benefiting from making its own batteries and semiconductors, helping it avoid disruptions that have hurt rivals, including Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc.

The firm, which is 19% owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, said that improved cost controls had also contributed to the jump in earnings.

Sales volume of new energy vehicles, including EVs and hybrids, also reached record highs, BYD said. That drove a “significant improvement in earnings” and helped relieve “the pressure on earnings brought by the rising prices of upstream raw materials.”

The forecast follows a strong first half of 2022, when BYD’s net income tripled from a year earlier to 3.6 billion yuan, the top end of its preliminary guidance.

Still, there is some uncertainty surrounding the company after Berkshire Hathaway trimmed its stake in the third quarter.

BYD sold 537,164 electric and hybrid cars in the latest three month period, up 197% from a year earlier. The total comfortably beat Tesla, though Tesla only sells pure EVs.

Growing demand for EVs is lifting the broader industry. Leading battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. said Oct. 10 its third-quarter net income could surge as much as 200% thanks to booming sales, while LG Energy Solution Ltd.’s operating profit and sales beat expectations on strong demand.

BYD is continuing its overseas expansion, including product launches in India, Thailand, Laos, Mongolia and Nepal in recent weeks, and a distribution agreement in Malaysia with Sime Darby Motors Sdn Bhd. That caps a summer push across Europe and an announcement that BYD will build its first passenger EV plant in Southeast Asia.

BYD’s Hong Kong-listed shares rose as much as 7.3% to HK$207 (US$26.37) in morning trade yesterday and they closed the day 5.91% higher at HK$204.40. The firm’s Shenzhen-listed shares rose 4.99% to 273.67 yuan.