Chinese electric car maker BYD Co. Ltd. saw its net profit rocket by 316 percent to 112 million yuan (17.95 million U.S. dollars) in the first quarter year on year, its quarterly report said.

BYD registered a total revenue of 12.88 billion yuan in the first quarter, representing 9.8 percent year-on-year growth, said the report filed with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

The company predicts that net profit for stockholders in the first half of the year will reach between 400 and 500 million yuan.

BYD cites four reasons for the turnaround from its lackluster performance of previous years.

Firstly, automobile sales rose in the first quarter of 2013.

Secondly, the company's mobile phone parts and assembly businesses grew. New orders for smartphones from existing major customers were well-received in the market. The company has secured new smartphone projects with the world's leading handset manufacturers and successfully branched out to other products, such as tablets.

Thirdly, losses in its solar cell business narrowed mainly due to less competition in the global photovoltaics (PV) market and the slight price rises of PV products.

Lastly, BYD's traditional rechargeable battery business saw fast growth.

BYD's stocks in Shenzhen rose 3.06 percent to 24.55 yuan per share on Friday.