Solid 3rd Quarter Earnings - LI AUTO
Mr. Xiang Li, chairman and chief executive officer of Li Auto, commented, “We achieved record-breaking deliveries in the third quarter, further cementing our leadership among Chinese automotive brands in the RMB200,000 and above NEV market. In October, we celebrated a major milestone: one million cumulative deliveries, a first for emerging new energy automotive brands in China. These remarkable results highlighted our rapidly growing brand influence and users’ strong recognition of our advancements in intelligentization. As our vehicle deliveries continue to grow, we are creating a virtuous cycle of innovation and advancement, driving the intelligentization of Li Auto vehicles to new heights. Notably, our latest autonomous driving solution, which integrates an end-to-end (E2E) model and a vision-language model (VLM), received overwhelmingly positive feedback from test users. In October, we rolled out this new solution on a full scale to over 320,000 Li AD Max users. Looking ahead, we remain committed to harnessing the power of technology to drive innovation, reinforcing our position as an industry leader as we continue to grow alongside our over one million user families.”
Mr. Tie Li, chief financial officer of Li Auto, added, “In the third quarter, we maintained our robust business performance. Our record vehicle deliveries boosted revenues to a historic high of RMB42.9 billion, representing an increase of 23.6% year-over-year. With sales across our model lineup steadily growing, our economies of scale continued to expand which, combined with Li AD Max vehicles accounting for a larger proportion of our sales mix driven by breakthroughs in intelligentization, allowed us to meaningfully expand our gross margin to 21.5%. Additionally, our net income reached RMB2.8 billion and operating cash flow reached RMB11.0 billion in the third quarter. Building on our solid execution across the organization and strong profitability, we are poised to maintain a relentless pursuit of business growth and technological innovation, which will propel us forward on our journey to achieving our long-term vision.”
Financial Results for the Third Quarter of 2024
Revenues
Total revenues were RMB42.9 billion (US$6.1 billion) in the third quarter of 2024, representing an increase of 23.6% from RMB34.7 billion in the third quarter of 2023 and an increase of 35.3% from RMB31.7 billion in the second quarter of 2024.
Vehicle sales were RMB41.3 billion (US$5.9 billion) in the third quarter of 2024, representing an increase of 22.9% from RMB33.6 billion in the third quarter of 2023 and an increase of 36.3% from RMB30.3 billion in the second quarter of 2024. The increase in revenue from vehicle sales over the third quarter of 2023 and second quarter of 2024 was primarily attributable to the increase in vehicle deliveries, partially offset by the lower average selling price mainly due to different product mix.
Other sales and services were RMB1.6 billion (US$220.9 million) in the third quarter of 2024, representing an increase of 45.8% from RMB1.1 billion in the third quarter of 2023 and an increase of 14.1% from RMB1.4 billion in the second quarter of 2024. The increase in revenue from other sales and services over the third quarter of 2023 and second quarter of 2024 was mainly attributable to the increased provision of services and sales of accessories, which is in line with higher accumulated vehicle sales, and increased sales of embedded products and services offered together with vehicle sales, which is in line with higher vehicle deliveries.
Cost of Sales and Gross Margin
Cost of sales was RMB33.6 billion (US$4.8 billion) in the third quarter of 2024, representing an increase of 24.5% from RMB27.0 billion in the third quarter of 2023 and an increase of 32.0% from RMB25.5 billion in the second quarter of 2024. The increase in cost of sales over the third quarter of 2023 and second quarter of 2024 was mainly attributable to increase in vehicle deliveries, partially offset by the lower average cost of sales due to different product mix and cost reduction.
Gross profit was RMB9.2 billion (US$1.3 billion) in the third quarter of 2024, representing an increase of 20.7% from RMB7.6 billion in the third quarter of 2023 and an increase of 49.3% from RMB6.2 billion in the second quarter of 2024.
Vehicle margin was 20.9% in the third quarter of 2024, compared with 21.2% in the third quarter of 2023 and 18.7% in the second quarter of 2024. The vehicle margin remained relatively stable over the third quarter of 2023. The increase in vehicle margin over the second quarter of 2024 was mainly due to cost reduction, partially offset by lower average selling price mainly due to different product mix.
Gross margin was 21.5% in the third quarter of 2024, compared with 22.0% in the third quarter of 2023 and 19.5% in the second quarter of 2024. The gross margin remained relatively stable over the third quarter of 2023. The increase in gross margin over the second quarter of 2024 was mainly due to the increase in vehicle margin.
Operating Expenses
Operating expenses were RMB5.8 billion (US$825.4 million) in the third quarter of 2024, representing an increase of 9.2% from RMB5.3 billion in the third quarter of 2023 and an increase of 1.5% from RMB5.7 billion in the second quarter of 2024.
Research and development expenses were RMB2.6 billion (US$368.6 million) in the third quarter of 2024, representing a decrease of 8.2% from RMB2.8 billion in the third quarter of 2023 and a decrease of 14.6% from RMB3.0 billion in the second quarter of 2024. The decrease in research and development expenses over the third quarter of 2023 and second quarter of 2024 was mainly attributable to decreased design and development costs for new products and technologies, and decreased employee compensation.
Selling, general and administrative expenses were RMB3.4 billion (US$478.7 million) in the third quarter of 2024, representing an increase of 32.1% from RMB2.5 billion in the third quarter of 2023 and an increase of 19.3% from RMB2.8 billion in the second quarter of 2024. The increase in selling, general and administrative expenses over the third quarter of 2023 and second quarter of 2024 was primarily due to increased employee compensation associated with the recognition of share-based compensation expenses regarding the chief executive officer’s performance-based awards in the third quarter of 2024 as the achievement of the related performance condition was deemed probable as well as the growth in the number of staff.
Income from Operations
Income from operations was RMB3.4 billion (US$489.2 million) in the third quarter of 2024, representing an increase of 46.7% from RMB2.3 billion in the third quarter of 2023 and an increase of 633.4% from RMB468.0 million in the second quarter of 2024. Operating margin was 8.0% in the third quarter of 2024, compared with 6.7% in the third quarter of 2023 and 1.5% in the second quarter of 2024. Non-GAAP income from operations was RMB4.5 billion (US$636.0 million) in the third quarter of 2024, representing an increase of 49.1% from RMB3.0 billion in the third quarter of 2023 and an increase of 412.9% from RMB870.1 million in the second quarter of 2024.
Net Income and Net Earnings Per Share
Net income was RMB2.8 billion (US$401.9 million) in the third quarter of 2024, representing an increase of 0.3% from RMB2.8 billion in the third quarter of 2023 and an increase of 156.2% from RMB1.1 billion in the second quarter of 2024. Non-GAAP net income was RMB3.9 billion (US$548.8 million) in the third quarter of 2024, representing an increase of 11.1% from RMB3.5 billion in the third quarter of 2023 and an increase of 156.2% from RMB1.5 billion in the second quarter of 2024.
Basic and diluted net earnings per ADS attributable to ordinary shareholders were RMB2.82 (US$0.40) and RMB2.66 (US$0.38) in the third quarter of 2024, respectively, compared with RMB2.86 and RMB2.67 in the third quarter of 2023, respectively, and RMB1.11 and RMB1.05 in the second quarter of 2024, respectively. Non-GAAP basic and diluted net earnings per ADS attributable to ordinary shareholders were RMB3.85 (US$0.55) and RMB3.63 (US$0.52) in the third quarter of 2024, respectively, compared with RMB3.53 and RMB3.29 in the third quarter of 2023, respectively, and RMB1.51 and RMB1.42 in the second quarter of 2024, respectively.
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