BYD profit down 24% in Q3, earnings estimate up

BEIJING - China's leading new-energy carmaker BYD reported profit decline in the third quarter (Q3), but the company adjusted up its earnings estimate for the year as it expected its domestic monorail transit system begins to bring in revenue.

In Q3, BYD generated revenue of 28.9 billion yuan ($4.35 billion), up 3.76 percent year on year, while profit attributable to shareholders totaled 1.07 billion yuan, down 23.92 percent year on year, the company said in its latest filing on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

In the first three quarters, BYD reported revenue rise of 1.56 percent, while profit tumbled 23.82 percent.

A cut in government subsidies to new energy cars this year has dragged down sales, as officials vowed to support vehicles of higher quality and with longer driving ranges.

Despite the profit drop in Q3, the company revised up its earnings estimate for the whole year, saying that profit will decline 15.09 percent in 2017, narrowing from the 20.03-percent drop in previous estimate.

The company expected rapid expansion in new energy car sales in the fourth quarter, and said that growth momentum of other business lines including the mobile components segment would remain strong.

It also said that as it completes the construction of monorail transit system, or "Yungui", in many domestic cities, the segment would bring in considerable revenue and profit to the company in Q4.

The carmaker has spent around 5 years and 5 billion yuan to develop the system and has received orders from both domestic and overseas cities.

Monorail trains can run at a maximum speed of 80 km per hour. Compared with a subway system, a monorail requires only one-fifth of the building cost and one-third of the construction time, according to BYD.