By Sherry Qin
Li Auto's shares fell sharply after the Chinese plug-in hybrid specialist offered a weaker 2025 outlook as it reported a profit slump for the final quarter of 2024.
Li Auto's Hong Kong-listed shares dropped 6.1% in Monday morning trading. The benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 1.25%. The carmaker's American depositary receipts fell 4.4% on Friday.
The Beijing-based carmaker said Friday that fourth-quarter net profit fell 38% from a year earlier amid increased promotional costs due to competition, although its quarterly vehicle deliveries rose 20%.
For the first quarter, Li Auto said it expects to deliver between 88,000 and 93,000 vehicles and post revenue of 23.4 billion yuan to 24.7 billion yuan, equivalent to US$3.23 billion to US$3.41 billion, down 3.5%-8.7% from a year earlier.
Following Li Auto's results, Deutsche Bank lowered its forecast for the company's 2025 sales volumes by 10% to 630,000 units, as the automaker won't launch the i7 pure electric SUV model in 2025.
Meanwhile, Nomura downgraded its rating on Li Auto's ADRs to neutral from buy, saying the company's 2025 outlook "remains vague, with more opportunities likely going into 2026."
There could be some uncertainties around Li Auto's near-term shipments as the first quarter is traditionally a weaker season, and most of its new models will be launched later this year, Nomura analysts said in a note.
Write to Sherry Qin at sherry.qin@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 16, 2025 23:54 ET (03:54 GMT)
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