By Jiahui Huang
Shares of Great Wall Motor rose Monday morning after the Chinese automaker posted a 42% jump in net profit for the third quarter.
The stock was up 7.8% to HK$11.66 in early trade in Hong Kong, taking gains to 13% so far this year.
The Hebei, China-based company’s net profit increased to CNY3.63 billion for the quarter, which it attributed to its pivot toward new energy and so-called intelligent cars, as well as to its expansion in overseas markets.
Total operating income climbed 33% to CNY49.53 billion, mainly due to an increase in sales and revenue per unit, the company said in an earnings release Friday after market close.
Ke Qu, an analyst from CCB International Securities, said the carmaker’s Tank series of vehicles helped drive its robust quarterly performance. Growing contributions from the company’s export markets, especially Russia, also helped, Qu said.
Looking forward, the analyst expects that as the Chinese EV market remains under pressure, niche products like Great Wall Motor’s Tank brand will be the ones with better margins. Qu said that the company’s “bottom line growth will still rely on export market,” meaning that it could “be affected by overseas markets’ seasonality factors and the unexpected outlook for Russia-Ukraine war.”
Great Wall Motor’s total exports for January to September rose 89% from the same period a year earlier to more than 211,000 vehicles.
Write to Jiahui Huang at jiahui.huang@wsj.com
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