China’s Geely 2019 net profit drops 35% amid broader market slump

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd <0175.HK> said on Monday lower sales drove its 2019 net profit down 35%, as China’s overall auto market suffered a prolonged slump last year.

China’s most globally high-profile automaker – due to parent Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co Ltd’s investments in European manufacturers Volvo Car and Daimler AG – posted full-year net profit of 8.19 billion yuan ($1.15 billion) versus the previous year’s 12.55 billion yuan.

The result compared with the 9.14 billion yuan average of 33 analyst estimates, Refinitiv data showed.

Revenue reached 97.40 billion yuan, versus 106.60 billion yuan a year prior. Analysts had estimated 99.43 billion yuan.

Geely Automobile sold 1.36 million cars in 2019 and aims to sell 1.4 million cars in 2020.

(Reporting by Yilei Sun and Brenda Goh; Editing by Christopher Cushing)