BYD has experienced a rare decline in profits due to factors such as increased R&D investment.
On the evening of October 30, BYD Company Limited (BYD, 002594.SZ; 01211.HK) announced that its revenue for the third quarter was RMB 194.985 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 3.05%; net profit was RMB 7.823 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 32.60%; and basic earnings per share were RMB 0.85. For the first three quarters, BYD's revenue was RMB 566.266 billion, a year-on-year increase of 12.75%; net profit was RMB 23.333 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 7.55%; and basic earnings per share were RMB 2.56.
In terms of gross profit margin, BYD's gross profit margin in the third quarter was 17.9%, an increase of 1.6 percentage points from 16.3% in the second quarter, but a decline from the previous gross profit margin level of around 20%.
BYD's performance is affected by both competitive pressure and a significant increase in its investment. Financial reports show that BYD's research and development expenses for the first nine months of this year reached 43.748 billion yuan, a surge of 31.3%. BYD stated that this was mainly due to increased employee salaries and material consumption.
In terms of sales, BYD's global cumulative sales reached 3.26 million vehicles from January to September this year, representing a year-on-year increase of 18.64%.
Overseas markets have become an important engine for BYD's performance growth.
From January to September this year, BYD's overseas sales reached 701,600 vehicles, a surge of 132% year-on-year, far exceeding the total overseas sales for the whole of 2024. Currently, BYD's products cover 117 countries and regions around the world.
On October 9th of this year, BYD's 14 millionth new energy vehicle rolled off the production line at its Brazilian factory, with Brazilian President Lula becoming the owner of the Song Pro. At the recently opened Tokyo Motor Show, BYD globally debuted the K-EV BYD RACCO, tailor-made for the Japanese market, and simultaneously launched its "pure electric + hybrid" dual-line strategy, officially introducing its first plug-in hybrid model, the Hiace 06DM-i, to the Japanese market, accelerating the expansion of its model lineup in Japan.
It's also worth noting that intelligent vehicles have become the main driver of BYD's sales. BYD stated that as of September, cumulative sales of vehicles equipped with the "Sky Eye" system and Huawei's Qiankun Intelligent Driving system exceeded 1.7 million units, generating over 110 million kilometers of data daily.
