China’s Xiaomi posts first profit from EV and AI businesses as quarterly earnings surge

Chinese technology company Xiaomi says it has turned a profit from its electric vehicle (EV) and artificial intelligence businesses in the third quarter, marking the first time the units have swung into black, with overall profits surging nearly 81 per cent from a year earlier.

The smartphone-to-EV giant’s adjusted net profit in the three months ended September 30 reached 11.3 billion yuan (US$1.6 billion), according to its earnings release on Tuesday. The pre-adjustment profit surged 129.5 per cent year on year. The Beijing-based company’s revenue in the quarter increased 22.3 per cent to 113.1 billion yuan.

The strong performance came as Xiaomi sold 108,796 EVs in the third quarter, an all-time high. Its EV, AI and other new initiatives businesses generated 29 billion yuan in revenue, tripling the same period last year.

By contrast, revenue from the smartphone segment – which remains Xiaomi’s bread and butter – grew only 1.6 per cent to 84.1 billion yuan, partly because sales of the Xiaomi 17 series, launched in late September, were not reflected in the quarter’s figures.

Xiaomi‘s smartphone segment grew by only 1.6 per cent, partly because sales of the Xiaomi 17 series were not reflected in the third-quarter figures. Photo: Handout

While Xiaomi’s smartphones contributed about three-quarters of total revenue, the surge in EV sales and profit underlined Xiaomi’s increasing bets on EVs and the company’s growing clout in the sector, raising hopes of a solid path for future growth.

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