BYD’s first-quarter net profit matched market estimates as China’s electric vehicle (EV) king partly offset weakness in its domestic market with rising exports.

The mainland’s largest and most profitable EV maker reported a net profit of nearly 4.09 billion yuan (US$590 million) for the first three months of the year, a drop of 55 per cent compared with a year earlier.

Revenue came in at 150.2 billion yuan, down 11.8 per cent from a year earlier.

The market’s consensus estimate was 4.09 billion...