Li Auto has announced a robust fourth-quarter 2023 performance, with net income doubling from the previous quarter and a further improvement in gross margin.
The company reported record revenue of RMB 41.73 billion yuan ($5.88 billion) in the fourth quarter, surpassing market expectations of RMB 39.8 billion yuan, as per its unaudited earnings report released today.
This marks a 136.4 percent increase year-on-year and a 20.3 percent increase from the third quarter, exceeding the upper end of its previous guidance range of RMB 38.46 billion to RMB 39.38 billion.
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Li Auto delivered a record 131,805 vehicles in the fourth quarter, surpassing the upper end of its guidance range of 125,000 to 128,000 vehicles. Revenue from vehicle sales in the fourth quarter reached RMB 40.38 billion, up 133.8 percent year-on-year and 20.1 percent from the third quarter.
Net income for the fourth quarter was RMB 5.75 billion, a significant increase of 2,068.2 percent from RMB 265.3 million in the same period last year and a 104.5 percent increase from RMB 2.81 billion in the third quarter.
Non-GAAP net income for the fourth quarter was RMB 4.59 billion, up 374.2 percent year-on-year and 32.3 percent from the third quarter. Diluted net earnings per ADS attributable to ordinary shareholders were RMB 5.32 in the fourth quarter, compared to RMB 0.25 in the fourth quarter of 2022 and RMB 2.67 in the third quarter.
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Non-GAAP diluted net earnings per ADS attributable to ordinary shareholders were RMB 4.23 in the fourth quarter, compared to RMB 0.93 in the same period last year and RMB 3.29 in the third quarter.
Li Auto’s gross margin for the fourth quarter improved to 23.5 percent, up from 20.2 percent in the same period last year and 22.0 percent in the third quarter.
Vehicle margin for the fourth quarter was 22.7 percent, compared to 20.0 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022 and 21.2 percent in the third quarter of 2023.
The company reported a free cash flow of RMB 14.64 billion in the fourth quarter, up 349.4 percent year-on-year and 10.7 percent from the third quarter. Li Auto expects deliveries in the first quarter of 2024 to be between 100,000 and 103,000 units, an increase of 90.2 percent to 95.9 percent from the first quarter of 2023.
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For the full year 2023, Li Auto reported revenue of RMB 123.85 billion, up 173.5 percent from RMB 45.29 billion in 2022. Net income for 2023 was RMB 11.81 billion, compared to a net loss of RMB 2.03 billion in 2022.
Non-GAAP net income for 2023 was RMB 12.2 billion, up 58,494.3 percent from RMB 20.8 million in 2022. Li Auto’s free cash flow for 2023 was RMB 44.19 billion, an increase of 1,861.8 percent from RMB 2.25 billion in 2022.
