Li Auto Inc prompted gains by Chinese electric vehicle maker stocks on Monday morning after reporting better-than-expected earnings for the final quarter.
Fourth-quarter earnings per American depositary receipt sat at US$0.60, the Beijing-based firm said, compared to Wall Street expectations of US$0.44.
Sales of US$5.7 billion also beat consensus for the three months to December of US$5.5 billion, meanwhile.
“With our significantly increasing scale, continued research and development advancement, and consistently improving operating efficiency throughout the year, 2023 marks our best financial performance yet,” chairman Xiang Li commented.
This sets “a solid foundation for Li Auto’s growth to diversify its product matrix and cater to a broader range of user needs in 2024,” he added.
Li guided for between 100,000 to 103,000 vehicle deliveries in the first quarter, up from around 53,000 in the same period last year and above market estimates of up to 90,000.
The positive update comes as concern grows over stagnating demand for electric vehicles from the likes of Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA, ETR:TL0) and other US manufacturers, partially due to intense competition from Chinese firms.
US-traded shares in the firm climbed 11.8% to US$38.91 in pre-market trading, prompting gains of 2.8% and 3.6% respectively by rivals Nio Inc and Xpeng Inc (NYSE:XPEV).