Nio sets September 1 for its second-quarter results, profit streak in the spotlight

The company said on Thursday it would release the figures for the three months to 30 June ahead of the US market open on Tuesday, 1 September, with a call for analysts to follow at 8am New York time. That is a touch sooner than a year ago, when Nio reported on 2 September.

The headline the market wants is whether the adjusted bottom line stays black. In the opening quarter Nio turned an adjusted operating profit of 66.8 million yuan (about $9.8 million) as revenue more than doubled to 25.53 billion yuan and the gross margin reached 19.0%, its best in four years. Deutsche Bank forecast in early June that the second quarter would again be profitable on that basis, pencilling in roughly 180 million yuan.

Volume, though, came in light. The maker shipped 107,658 cars in the quarter, short of its own 110,000-to-115,000 guide, even as that still marked a rise of nearly half on a year earlier. A weak April of 29,356 handovers dragged the period down before sales climbed back to 40,597 by June. Across the half, deliveries reached 191,123, up more than two-thirds.

What each badge sells matters for margins. The third-generation ES8 accounted for 33,474 of the quarter's cars and the newer ES9 flagship, on sale from late May, added 11,703. The family-oriented Onvo line contributed 29,124, up better than 70%, while the small Firefly brand supplied 17,589. Guidance for the current quarter and any word on the full-year target will draw as much attention as the profit line.