(Yicai) March 11 -- Shares of Leapmotor Technology surged after the Chinese electric vehicle startup reported its net loss shrank 33 percent last year from the prior one, thanks to a jump in sales and wider gross profit margin.

Leapmotor [HKG: 9863] closed 13.5 percent higher at HKD47.10 (USD6.06) a share in Hong Kong today.

Net loss was CNY2.8 billion (USD390 million) in the 12 months ended Dec. 31, Leapmotor said in a financial report released yesterday. Revenue surged 92 percent to CNY32.2 billion (USD4.4 billion) from the year before.

Leapmotor's sales climbed last year, with those of its C-series models, which have higher gross margins, accounting for a bigger proportion of the total and boosting the firm's gross profit margin to 8.3 percent last year from 0.5 in 2023, the Hangzhou-based carmaker said.

The ratio of self-developed and self-made parts in the C-series models has increased, helping to reduce costs, Leapmotor noted, adding that most of the vehicles' gross profit comes from self-made parts.

Leapmotor posted its first net profit in the fourth quarter of last year, achieving the goal a year ahead of schedule and becoming only the second profitable Chinese EV startups. In addition, its gross profit margin reached a record high of 13.3 percent.

Deliveries more than doubled to 293,700 units last year from the prior one, Leapmotor pointed out.

Leapmotor is expected to sell between 500,000 and 600,000 units this year, its senior management said at an earnings conference call. The firm will also strive to achieve its first annual profit, they added.

The gross profit margin target of Leapmotor is 10 percent to 11 percent this year, the management noted. In addition, Leapmotor International, its joint venture with Stellantis, is expected to break even, they added.

Editor: Martin Kadiev