SAIC Motor posts 20.2% YoY drop in 2020 net profit

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- SAIC Motor announced on Thursday its gross revenue in 2020 dropped 12% year on year to roughly 742.132 billion yuan ($113.479 billion), while the full-year net profit attributable to shareholders fell 20.2% to 20.431 billion yuan ($3.124 billion).

Excluding the impact of certain non-recurring gains and losses, the annual net profit still declined 17.78% from a year earlier to 17.744 billion yuan ($2.713 billion), according to the company's 2020 financial results.

Besides, the net cash flowed from operating activities amounted to 37.518 billion yuan ($5.737 billion) last year, sliding 18.92% over a year ago. The basic earnings per share stood at 1.752 yuan, versus 2.191 yuan for the year of 2019.

The expenditures related to research and development activities were 13.395 billion yuan ($2.048 billion), edging up 0.01% compared to 2019.

The Shanghai-based auto giant sold roughly 5.6 million new vehicles throughout 2020, representing a year-on-year decrease of 10.2%. However, the second-half sales rose 7.6% from the year-ago period and the year-on-year growth in quarterly sales kept rising largely thanks to the efficient control of the coronavirus pandemic and various incentives to spur car consumption.

New energy vehicle (NEV) sales zoomed up 73.4% to around 320,000 units last year, making SAIC Motor the No.1 automobile group in China by annual NEV sales. During the same period, the group saw its vehicle export volume and sales for overseas markets total 390,000 units with a year-on-year increase of 11.3%, versus the 6.2% decrease in the country's full-year car exports.

SAIC Motor said it rolled out 40 all-new and refreshed models last year, including the hotter-selling models like the new MG5, the all-new Buick GL8, the Wuling Victory and the Hongguang MINIEV. Thanks to the precise product position, the Hongguang MINIEV was being consecutively crowned the best-selling homegrown EV model in China since last August.