ZCZC
BCN-18
SKOREA-ECONOMY-AUTOMOBILE-HYUNDAI
Hyundai Motor swings back to black with Q1 profit
SEOUL, April 24, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – South Korea’s largest automaker Hyundai
Motor bounced back in the first three months from its first quarterly loss in
eight years on strong domestic demand for its new sport utility vehicles, the
company said Wednesday.
Net profit during the January to March period rose 30 percent from a year
earlier to 954 billion won (US$830 million), Hyundai said in a statement.
The increase came after the firm reported its first quarterly loss in
eight years for October-December 2018.
“Strong sales of newly released vehicles including the G90 and the
Palisade led to an improvement in profitability,” Hyundai said.
The launch of the Palisade, Hyundai’s flagship SUV model, helped boost
domestic volume by 8.7 percent, it said, but global sales dropped 4.9 percent
— to 837,420 cars — as demand remained low in key markets such as the US
and China.
Hyundai forecast global demand to pick up with the launch of new models in
China and added it will focus on emerging markets including India and the
ASEAN countries.
The company’s operating profit jumped 21 percent to 825 billion won in the
first quarter from a year earlier, while revenues rose 6.9 percent.
Shares of Hyundai were up 1.47 percent in afternoon trading in Seoul.
BSS/AFP/HR/1240