Billionaire Li Shufu-controlled Geely’s first-half profit misses estimates, warns global chip shortage could hit sales
- Geely’s first-half car shipments rose 20 per cent, but it has still not crossed the halfway mark of its projected annual target of 1.53 million units
- Deliveries of the first model of its new electric-car brand, Zeekr, are expected to start next month
The Hangzhou, China-based carmaker reported net income of 2.4 billion yuan (US$367 million) for the six months ended June 30, versus 2.3 billion yuan in the same period a year ago, according to a filing on Wednesday. Analysts were looking for 3.2 billion yuan. Revenue rose 22 per cent to 45 billion yuan, lower than average analyst estimates of 48.9 billion yuan.
“The rise in raw material prices should subside in the remainder of the year but chip shortage could persist,” Geely said in a statement, adding that the “launch of more new and competitive vehicle models should enable the group to perform better in the second half”.
Geely on Wednesday maintained its full-year sales forecast, which represents a growth of 16 per cent from 2020, but said the “recent worsening of the chip shortage and the resurgence of Covid-19 cases globally could pose a significant threat to our sales performance over the next few months, thus undermining our chance to achieve the target”.