DOMESTIC car and battery maker BYD Co. posted a sharp rise in net profit for last year on the back of higher vehicle sales as well as continuing narrowed losses from its solar operations.

    Shenzhen-based BYD said Friday its full-year net profit rose to 552.8 million yuan (US$90.3 million), up 579 percent from 81.38 million yuan a year earlier. The results for 2013 were in line with its earlier forecast of a net profit of 545.1 million yuan to 585.1 million yuan.

    BYD’s full-year revenue was up 13 percent at 52.89 billion yuan from 46.85 billion yuan a year earlier.

    In 2013, auto sales in China recorded the strongest gain in three years as demand for cars picked up, even as the country’s economy displayed signs of a slowdown. Sales of both passenger and commercial vehicles totaled a record 21.98 million units last year, up 14 percent from a year earlier, the fastest pace since 2010, according to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

    BYD said the improvement in earnings was due to the launch of several new car models during the year, steady sales at its handset division as well as narrowed losses in its solar business. The company also said higher sales of its electric cars also contributed to the rise in full-year earnings.

    Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. made a high-profile investment in BYD in 2008. MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co., a Berkshire unit, holds a 10 percent stake in the Hong Kong and Shenzhen-listed company.

    BYD earlier last week received approvals to sell its electric vehicles in Beijing and Shanghai, marking a breakthrough for the company in efforts to kick-start its fledgling “green cars” business.

    (SD-Agencies)