(Yicai) Aug. 19 -- Shares of Leapmotor Technology advanced after achieving its first-ever first-half profit this year, becoming only the second Chinese electric vehicle startup to do so after Li Auto.

Leapmotor [HKG: 9863] was trading up 2 percent at HKD69.50 (USD8.91) as of 11.55 a.m. in Hong Kong today, after climbing as much as 4.2 percent yesterday. The stock has more than doubled this year, as investors are confident about the company’s improved financial performance.

Net profit totaled CNY30 million (USD4.2 million) in the six months ended June 30, compared with a net loss of CNY2.2 billion (USD306.3 million) a year earlier, the Hangzhou-based carmaker announced yesterday.

Revenue surged 174 percent to nearly CNY24.3 billion (USD3.4 billion), mainly because of increases in vehicle and spare parts deliveries and higher income from strategic cooperation, carbon credit trading, and other services.

Leapmotor delivered 221,664 EVs in the first half, up 156 percent from the same period last year, ranking first among emerging auto brands in China in terms of sales. In July, deliveries totaled 50,129 units, setting a new monthly record.

The automaker exported 20,375 units in the period, having over 600 stores in about 30 global markets, including 550 in Europe and nearly 50 in Asia-Pacific. Its domestic sales and service network covered 286 cities as of June 30, up from 198 a year earlier.

Leapmotor raised its annual delivery target for 2025 to 580,000 to 650,000 units from 500,000 units forecast earlier this year, and that for 2026 to one million units, executives said during the earnings conference call yesterday. It delivered 290,000 units last year.

Leapmotor’s gross margin was 14.1 percent in the first half, up from 1.1 percent in the same period last year, mainly thanks to economies of scale driven by the increase in sales volume, ongoing cost management efforts, the optimization of product mix, and income generated from other businesses.

Founded in 2015 and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in September 2022, Leapmotor initially lagged behind its rivals but then gained ground thanks to a market-focused approach in the mainstream market with competitive pricing.

Leapmotor’s compact sports utility vehicle, the B10, is priced at between CNY109,800 and CNY129,800 (USD15,290 and USD18,070), while its mid-size SUVs, the C10 and C11, are priced from CNY128,800 to CNY209,800, making them accessible to a broader customer base than similar models of premium EV brands, such as Nio and Li Auto.

The company continued to invest heavily in future growth, with research and development expenses rising 55 percent to CNY1.9 billion (USD264.5 million) in the first half from a year earlier.

Editor: Futura Costaglione