Earnings Report is Out | LI AUTO-W Surges 6% in Pre-Market Trading, Q1 Profit Turnaround YoY, Gross Margin Improves QoQ

On Wednesday, Li Auto released its first-quarter financial report. Li Auto's Q1 revenue was RMB 18.79 billion, slightly lower than the market expectation of RMB 19 billion; net profit was RMB 929 million, significantly higher than the market expectation of RMB 51 million; and gross profit margin rebounded slightly. Li Auto rose 6% in pre-market trading.

Q2 Guidance

LI AUTO-W expects:

Vehicle deliveries in Q2 to be between 76,000 and 81,000 units, an increase of 164.9% to 182.4% compared to Q2 2022.

Total revenue in Q2 is expected to be between RMB 24.22 billion ($3.53 billion) and RMB 25.86 billion ($3.77 billion), an increase of 177.4% to 196.1% compared to Q2 2022.

Business Data

In the first quarter, Li Auto delivered a total of 52,584 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 65.8%.

As of March 31, 2023, Li Auto has 299 retail centers covering 123 cities, and operates 318 after-sales service and Li Auto authorized sheet metal spraying centers in 223 cities.

Financial Data

Li Auto's vehicle sales revenue in Q1 was RMB 18.33 billion ($2.67 billion), an increase of 96.9% compared to Q1 2022's RMB 9.31 billion, and an increase of 6.1% compared to Q4 2022's RMB 17.27 billion.

The vehicle gross profit margin in Q1 was 19.8%, compared to 22.4% in Q1 2022 and 20.0% in Q4 2022. The decrease in vehicle gross profit margin between the two quarters was mainly due to differences in product mix.

Total revenue in Q1 was RMB 18.79 billion ($2.74 billion), an increase of 96.5% compared to Q1 2022's RMB 9.56 billion, and an increase of 6.4% compared to Q4 2022's RMB 17.65 billion.

Gross profit in Q1 was RMB 3.83 billion ($557.7 million), an increase of 77.0% compared to Q1 2022's RMB 2.16 billion, and an increase of 7.4% compared to Q4 2022's RMB 3.57 billion.

The gross profit margin in Q1 was 20.4%, compared to 22.6% in Q1 2022 and 20.2% in Q4 2022.

Net profit in Q1 was RMB 9.338 billion ($136.0 million), compared to a net loss of RMB 109 million in the same period of 2022, an increase of 252.0% compared to Q4 2022's net profit of RMB 2.653 million. The R&D expenses for Q1 were RMB 1.85 billion, an increase of 34.8% compared to Q1 2022 and a decrease of 10.5% compared to Q4 2022.