BYD's new profit for first half of year falls 85-95%

Gasgoo.com (Shanghai July 13) - BYD revealed its performance results for the first half of the year yesterday, China Business News reported. According to the report, the net profit of the manufacturer's publicly listed company was between 121.06 million to 363.18 million yuan ($18.72m-$56.17m), a fall of 85 to 95 percent from mid-2010.

BYD attributed the loss to several key reasons, the largest of which were the phasing out of preferential taxation policies for vehicles under 1.6 L and increased competition in the small car segment, causing a significant drop in sales. Furthermore, the order volumes for the company's other businesses, including its mobile phone part business, have been far less than last year.

Prior to the release of the report, BYD Board Chairman and President Wang Chuanfu said that BYD was hoping to pioneer the country's new energy vehicle industry by independently setting up a research center exploring battery technology. Mr. Wang will now have to face the reality of his company's performance.

There was already evidence that BYD's profits would fall this year when the company announced the value of its A-shares falling last month.