The Shenzhen-based company said its profit tumbled to 7.8 billion yuan (US$1.1 billion) in the three months ended September, compared to 11.6 billion yuan a year earlier, according to a statement filed with the Hong Kong and Shenzhen stock exchanges on Thursday.
Still, that represented a 22.6 per cent increase from the 6.4 billion yuan posted in the preceding three months.
Quarterly revenue, meanwhile, slumped 3.1 per cent year on year to 195 billion yuan.
Earnings for the period fell short of a consensus estimate of 9.6 billion yuan from a Bloomberg survey of analysts. Revenue was 9.7 per cent lower than the average forecast of 215.9 billion yuan.
“Falling sales in China and discounts offered to spur deliveries in the home market have pressured BYD to improve its profitability,” said Ivan Li, a fund manager at Loyal Wealth Management in Shanghai. “Its robust sales abroad are not enough to offset its weak domestic performance.”
Controlled by Chinese billionaire Wang Chuanfu, BYD delivered a total of 1.11 million pure electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles in the third quarter, down 1.8 per cent a year earlier and 2.7 per cent lower quarter on quarter.
