SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- U.S. electric vehicle maker Tesla reported a 43 percent year-on-year decline in third-quarter net profit on Wednesday, while revenue remained largely unchanged amid falling vehicle deliveries and higher operating expenses.
According to the company's latest financial report, revenue totaled 28.05 billion U.S. dollars in the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with 28.1 billion dollars a year earlier, representing a slight decline of 0.2 percent.
Net income attributable to common stockholders fell to 787 million dollars from 1.37 billion dollars in the same period last year, while diluted earnings per share declined to 22 cents from 39 cents.
Operating income dropped 56 percent year on year to 718 million dollars from 1.62 billion dollars, with the operating margin narrowing to 2.6 percent from 5.8 percent.
Tesla said the decline in operating profit was primarily driven by higher operating expenses related to artificial intelligence and research and development projects, increased stock-based compensation and lower regulatory credit revenue.
Despite the decline in operating income, the company's overall gross margin improved to 19.6 percent from 18 percent a year earlier.
The company reported third-quarter capital expenditures of 4.73 billion dollars, more than double the 2.25 billion dollars recorded a year earlier, as it continued to invest in manufacturing capacity, artificial intelligence and other projects.
During the quarter, Tesla's automotive revenue fell 3 percent year on year to 20.56 billion dollars, compared with 21.21 billion dollars a year earlier. The company delivered 486,532 vehicles worldwide, down approximately 2 percent from a year earlier. Vehicle production, meanwhile, rose 4 percent to 464,391 units.
Tesla also reported a 67 percent year-on-year increase in active subscriptions to its Full Self-Driving system, to 1.74 million, and progress in its autonomous driving and robotics businesses, including the launch of rides using its purpose-built Cybercab vehicles in Austin, Texas, on Sept. 3.
Looking ahead, Tesla said it would focus on maximizing factory capacity utilization while continuing to invest in autonomous driving, robotics, artificial intelligence infrastructure and energy storage. ■
