File photo/Zhang Xiaoqing (NBD)

Mar. 19 (NBD) --- NIO (NYSE: NIO) grossed 2.848 bln yuan (404 million U.S. dollars) in revenue and 2.865 bln yuan in net loss for the fourth quarter of 2019, up 55.1 percent and 13.6 percent compared with the previous quarter, the Chinese EV maker announced on Wednesday.

Shares of the company tanked in the premarket trading on Wednesday and finally closed 16.21 percent lower.

"The losses are widening compared with Q3, which may be caused by fees arising from once-off adjustments," said NIO's founder Li Bin in a conference call. Currently, the organizational restructuring and business adjustment work are almost done, and the losses in Q1 2020 are expected to fall by 35 percent from that in Q4 2019. 

Its earnings report also shows NIO's gross profit margin for 2019 came in at -10.9 percent after deducting the negative influence of the recall of batteries last June. 

"With improved supply chain, lower battery-package fees, scaled production and lower manufacturing costs, the gross profit margin is believed to turn positive or see two-digit growth in Q2 of this year, " Li reassured.

It's noticed that NIO delivered a total of 8,224 cars in Q4 2019. In contrast, it only delivered a total of 2,305 cars in the first two months of this year amid coronavirus outbreak, lower than its goal. 

To ease the impact, the company has started online car selling through live streaming. In the past 30 days, it gained 2,183 orders. Currently, the daily order recovered to about 70 percent of last December and is expected to rebound to the 2019 high this April," said Li. 

Since the beginning of 2020, NIO has raised 435 million U.S. dollars through three rounds of convertible bonds issuance. Besides, it has started production of its third mass-production model EC6 after ES6 and ES8. The agreement of NIO's China headquarter project is expected to be finalized by the end of April, disclosed Li Bin.

Email: gaohan@nbd.com.cn