BEIJING, April 27 (TMTPOST)— BYD Co., Ltd. maintained steady growth in the beginning of the year, a typical off-season of the auto market.

Source: Visual China

BYD posted net income of RMB4.13 billion (US$596.56 million) in the quarter ended March 31, increasing 410.89% from a year earlier, and the revenue grew 79.83% year-over-year (YoY) to RMB120.173 billion, according to a filing on Thursday. The gross margin stood at 17.86% that quarter, up 5.46 points from the same period last year, and earnings per share (EPS) soared 407.14% to RMB1.42.

Following the earnings, Hong Kong-listed BYD shares gained about 1.4% to HK$236.00, the highest close since February 15, while the benchmark Hang Seng Index closed 0.4% higher Thursday. As of that day, BYD shares climbed more than 22%, outperforming Hang Seng Index, which edged around 0.3% higher.

BYD did slow down compared with the last quarter of 2022, partly driven by the national new energy vehicle (NEV) purchase subsidy policy expired at the end of the year. The electric vehicle (EV) giant set a new quarterly record with the net income of RMB7.31 billion in the fourth quarter, representing a 1114.5% YoY growth. Revenue that quarter jumped 120.4% to RMB424.06 billion.

BYD said it sold 552,076 vehicles in the first quarter, representing a 92.81% YoY increase, roughly in line with statistics from China Passenger Car Association (CPCA). According to the auto industry body, BYD maintained the first place at EV sector with the passenger vehicle sales of 547,917 units, more than two times bigger than that of Tesla in China. Among the top ten EV makers by sales in the country, BYD was ranked as one of the fastest growing companies with a yearly sales increase of 92.43%, second to Aion, a brand owned by the state-owned manufacturer Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., Ltd. (GAC). Aion recorded a 135.87% growth but sales just topped 80,300 units, much smaller volume compared with BYD.

BYD outsold FAW-Volkswagen in 2022 and became the best selling auto brand in China’s passenger vehicle market, the first time for a native brand to win the annual sales champion, according to CPCA. And it is well on the track to consolidate the leadership in the first quarter, data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) suggests.

Besides consumer demand, BYD was also weighed by material cost. Prices of some of raw materials in the upstream fluctuated at the high level due to the mismatch between supply and demand, bringing great pressure to downstream of the auto industry. From January to March, BYD adjusted pricing of some models, which helped ease the cost pressure brought about by raw material price swing. The company is also actively getting into business invovled core resources upstream to reduce the uncertainty resulted from raw material market volatility, and ensure its own production needs.

In the annual report released last month, BYD said it would promote comprehensive expansion throughout NEV sector with its 7+4 Full Market EV Strategy, which comprises seven conventional types of transportation--passenger vehicles, taxis, buses, coaches, urban logistics vehicles, urban construction vehicles and urban sanitation vehicles, and four specialized types of transportation including vehicles for mining, ports, airports and warehousing.