Chinese automaker Li Auto has just released its Unaudited Third Quarter 2023 Financial Results yesterday, showcasing quite impressive results. Li Auto even managed to beat the industry analyst forecast.
Revenue: Result vs. analyst forecasts
Li Auto’s Q3 2023 revenue reached 34.7 billion yuan ($4.8 billion), up 271% year-on-year. It also indicates a 21% quarter-on-quarter growth in the same period.
According to Bloomberg, this revenue result surpassed analyst forecasts of 33.7 billion yuan.
Notably, Li Auto expected that its EV deliveries would hit at least 100,000 to 103 units in the third quarter.
Other financial highlights
Li Auto’s net income increased to 2.81 billion yuan in Q3 2023, indicating a notable recovery from its net loss of 1.65 billion in the same period last year due to COVID-19 pandemic-induced lockdowns.
Its gross profit also grew 546.7% YoY to RMB7.64 billion (US$1.05 billion) in the third quarter of the year. It enabled the company to record a gross margin of 22%, up from just 12.7% in the same period in 2022.
Meanwhile, its income from operations reached RMB2.34 billion (US$320.6 million) compared to its loss of RMB2.13 billion in Q3 2022. The non-GAAP income from operations recorded RMB2.99 billion (US$410.3 million), a recovery from the RMB1.72 billion non-GAAP loss from operations in the same period last year.
Presented below are the key financial results of Li Auto:
| September 30, 2022 | June 30, 2023 | September 30, 2023 | YoY % Change5 | QoQ % Change5 | |
| RMB | RMB | RMB | |||
| Vehicle sales | 9,045.9 | 27,971.9 | 33,616.1 | 271.6% | 20.2% |
| Vehicle margin | 12.0% | 21.0% | 21.2% | 9.2% | 0.2% |
| Total revenues | 9,342.3 | 28,652.7 | 34,679.5 | 271.2% | 21.0% |
| Gross profit | 1,182.0 | 6,235.3 | 7,644.5 | 546.7% | 22.6% |
| Gross margin | 12.7% | 21.8% | 22.0% | 9.3% | 0.2% |
| (Loss)/income from operations | (2,129.7) | 1,625.9 | 2,339.4 | N/A | 43.9% |
| Non-GAAP (loss)/income from operations | (1,724.4) | 2,043.3 | 2,993.8 | N/A | 46.5% |
| Net (loss)/income | (1,645.7) | 2,310.1 | 2,812.9 | N/A | 21.8% |
| Non-GAAP net (loss)/income | (1,240.4) | 2,727.5 | 3,467.3 | N/A | 27.1% |
| Operating cash flow | (508.3) | 11,112.4 | 14,506.5 | N/A | 30.5% |
| Free cash flow (non-GAAP) | (1,958.6) | 9,621.4 | 13,224.8 | N/A | 37.5% |
EV deliveries
The report also indicated that Li Auto’s deliveries exceeded 105,000 electric vehicles in Q3 2023, indicating a notable increase from just around 26,500 in the same period last year.
In October alone, Li Auto’s deliveries were 40,422 units, up 302.1% YoY.
“Each of our three Li L series models recorded over 10,000 monthly deliveries for three consecutive months since August, maintaining our position as the sales champion among SUVs and NEVs priced over 300,000 yuan in China.”
Founder and Chairman Li Xiang
The Chinese automaker also disclosed its plans to develop and launch four new models next year, including the extended-range SUV L6.
Li Auto’s impressive results strongly demonstrate the advantage of Chinese automakers over other foreign brands, particularly in offering more affordable models. Considering the impressive third-quarter results, it now expects its vehicle deliveries to reach between 125,000-128,000 units in Q4 2024. Li Auto’s stock surged 3.8% in Hong Kong yesterday, increasing more than 140% over the last 12 months.
