Chinese company BYD Co. Ltd. said on Monday that its first-half profit rose 204.7% as the maker of new-energy vehicles surpassed its record deliveries and maintained its title as China’s top-selling auto brand.
Net profit for the six months ended June 30 was 10.95 billion yuan (about 1.5 billion U.S. dollars), up 204.7% from 3.6 billion yuan a year earlier, thanks to an increase in revenue from 72.7% to 260.12 billion yuan.
According to a calculation by Reuters, the company posted a net profit of 6.82 billion yuan in the April-June quarter, up 144.7%.
The increase was smaller than in the first quarter when profit increased fivefold. Second-quarter profit, the second-highest quarterly figure, was within BYD’s guidance of 6.370–7.570 million yuan.
The Shenzhen-based automaker, whose investors include Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, has managed to cement its leadership position in the world’s largest auto market amid intensifying price competition and sluggish demand. In October, more cars were sold in China than the Volkswagen brand for the first time.
This Monday, it became known that a unit of BYD had reached an agreement to buy the mobility business of American Jabil Inc. in China for 2,200 million dollars.
BYD, powered by its Dynasty and Ocean series of plug-in hybrid cars and battery-electric vehicles, broke a monthly sales record in July after hitting 700,244 deliveries in the second quarter.
Still, profitability is being squeezed by a price war launched by US rival Tesla earlier this year that has dragged more than 40 brands into the abyss.
According to Reuters calculations, since February BYD has released new versions of eight of its best-selling models, with prices ranging from 4% to 25% lower than the previous versions.
BYD has also joined the tide of Chinese electric car makers looking abroad, and has showrooms in countries like Singapore and Australia.
Of the 612,425 battery electric vehicles BYD sold in the first half, 10% were exported, according to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. Tesla sold 889,015 electric vehicles worldwide in the same period.
According to a Reuters analysis of the automaker’s financials, BYD’s gross profit margin was 18.73% in the second quarter, up from 17.86% in the first quarter.
