BYD expects lower 2017 profit on stiff competition

Chinese carmaker BYD Co Ltd, backed by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc, said on Sunday that its annual profit would likely fall by as much as a fifth on higher competition but expects sales of new energy cars to grow rapidly in the fourth quarter.

The company's net profit dropped 23.8 percent to 2.79 billion yuan ($419.46 million) during the first nine months of the year.

It said that revenue for the nine-month period rose 1.56 percent to 73.9 billion yuan.