(Yicai Global) Oct. 18 -- BYD’s shares climbed after the Chinese new energy vehicle giant said it expects third-quarter profit to have soared more than four times from a year earlier.

The carmaker’s shares [SHE: 002594] closed up 5 percent in Shenzhen today at CNY273.67 (USD38) apiece, after earlier gaining by as much as 7 percent. In Hong Kong, BYD [HKG: 1211] added 6.2 percent to end at HKD205 (USD26.12).

Net profit likely rose 334 percent to 365 percent to between CNY5.5 billion and CNY5.9 billion (USD39.6 billion and USD42.5 billion) in the three months ended Sept. 30 from the same period a year ago, buoyed by strong NEV sales and effective cost controls at its cellphone business, the Shenzhen-based firm said in its latest earnings report released yesterday.

BYD’s sales maintained strong growth and continued to hit record highs as the NEV industry kept on developing. The automaker has a much larger market share than rivals, achieving significant growth, boosting its financial results, and effectively alleviating the pressure from rising upstream raw material prices.

BYD sold 211,300 NEVs last month, up over 183 percent from a year ago and exceeding 200,000 units in a single month for the first time. Its passenger car sales ranked first in China in September with a market share of 9.9 percent, according to the China Passenger Car Association.

In the first three quarters of the year, BYD’s sales skyrocketed 250 percent to nearly 1.2 million units, achieving 78 percent of the company’s annual target of 1.5 million.

In the first nine months, BYD expects a net profit of CNY9.1 billion to CNY9.5 billion, a gain of between 272 percent and 289 percent from the same period last year.

Profit at the company’s cellphone business rose thanks to better cost control and product structure adjustments and despite demand in the consumer electronics industry remaining weak, BYD said.

Editor: Futura Costaglione