(Yicai) Nov. 19 -- Xiaomi said profit rose 9.7 percent in the third quarter of this year from a year earlier after the Chinese electronics giant increased the price of its handsets and saw more shipments.

Net profit was CNY5.3 billion (USD732.5 million) in the three months ended Sept. 30, the Beijing-based company said in an earnings report released yesterday. Revenue surged 31 percent to CNY92.5 billion (USD12.8 billion).

However, Xiaomi's net profit growth was dragged down in the third quarter after increased costs led to its gross profit margin falling, according to the company. The firm's gross profit margin was 20.4 percent, down from 22.7 percent a year ago, with that of its phone segment dropping to 11.7 percent from 16.6 percent.

Xiaomi's handset business fluctuated last quarter, mainly because of the impacts on quarterly gross profit margin from higher memory costs and product release cycles, President Lu Weibin said at an earnings conference call. The gross profit margin is in a controllable range now and will likely grow this quarter, he noted.

The adjusted net profit of Xiaomi rose 4.4 percent to CNY6.3 billion in the third quarter from a year earlier. Net loss from its innovative businesses, such as smart electric vehicles, narrowed to CNY1.5 billion from CNY1.8 billion in the previous quarter.

Xiaomi's net profit climbed 5.3 percent last quarter from the prior one, adjusted net profit rose 1.2 percent, and revenue jumped 4.1 percent.

Xiaomi delivered 39,790 units of its first EV, the SU7, last quarter, having produced 100,000 units as of Nov. 13, it pointed out. The company has raised its annual delivery target to 130,000 from 120,000, Lu said, adding that deliveries topped 20,000 autos last month and will likely again exceed the figure this month.

Shares of Xiaomi [HKG: 1810] fell 3.1 percent to HKD27.90 (USD3.59) each as of lunch break in Hong Kong today.

Editors: Xu Wei, Martin Kadiev