Xiaomi posts better-than-expected quarterly sales on growing smartphone shipments, as EV target remains on track
- Revenue rose 27 per cent to 75.5 billion yuan during the first quarter, with smartphone sales jumping 33 per cent
- The company expects to reach its goal of delivering 100,000 SU7 cars this year
Sales reached 75.5 billion yuan (US$10.5 billion) during the quarter ended March 31, beating the consensus analysts’ forecast of 73.5 billion compiled by Bloomberg. The world’s best-selling Chinese smartphone brand saw handset sales, which made up nearly 62 per cent of its total revenue, jump 33 per cent to 46.5 billion yuan.
Total profits dropped slightly by 1 per cent to 4.1 billion yuan.
Xiaomi’s shares closed at HK$18.94 on Thursday ahead of the earnings announcement, down more than 2.5 per cent.
Xiaomi also plans to expand its smart-driving unit by adding 500 engineers to the current team of 1,000 engineers this year, having budgeted 1.5 billion yuan for the project, according to Lu.
Wang confirmed the move when reached by the Post on Thursday, after Chinese media outlets reported on the news earlier. He will work directly under Xiaomi’s autonomous-driving head, Ye Hangjun.
In the first quarter, Xiaomi maintained its spot as the world’s third-largest smartphone vendor with a 14 per cent market share, after its global shipments grew nearly 34 per cent to top 40 million units, according to data from research firm IDC.
Smartphone shipments in the country rose 6.5 per cent during the quarter.