Electric car maker BYD sees profits fall by a quarter but forecasts better times ahead

Chinese electric car manufacturer BYD saw profit fall by almost a quarter in the nine months to September but expects sales in the current quarter to grow rapidly.

Net profit dropped 23.8 per cent to 2.79 billion yuan (US$419.46 million) in the period, while operating income edged up 1.6 per cent to 79.93 billion yuan, according to a filing to the stock exchange on Sunday.

“In the fourth quarter, it is expected that the group’s sales of new energy vehicles will continue to grow rapidly as compared with the same period of last year,” it said.

The group’s new vehicle model, the “Song Max”, has been warmly welcomed by the market, which contributed to a rapid recovery in its conventional vehicle business, BYD said.

It forecasts earnings for the full year could be in the range of 404 million yuan to 429 million yuan, down 15 to 20 per cent from 2016, when it reported net profit of 505.2 million yuan.

BYD Electronic (International), the smartphone-components producer subsidiary of BYD Company, says its profit increased 124 per cent to 1.98 billion yuan for the nine months to September.