Korea's Hyundai Motors YTD Sluggish

Chosun Ilbo notes...

The nation’s biggest carmaker Hyundai Motor performed below par in the first three quarters of the year. But, the firm notes that prospects for the fourth quarter are rosy.

Hyundai said it recorded operating profit of S$1.48 billion in January through September. Sales dropped 3.3 percent and operating profit 36 percent from the same period last year.

A surge in raw materials prices, slow growth in sales and a strong won have hurt the figures, Hyundai executive Hwang Yoo-no said. The won has been on an upward spiral against the dollar and euro since last year’s fourth quarter.

Third-quarter results suffered not because of sluggish sales but because of lagging production, Hwang said, indirectly fingering partial strikes in late August which halted production of the flagship Sonata and Grandeur sedans. But Hwang said fourth-quarter sales would top $8 billion as the Hyundai’s Korean factories were now working to 100 percent capacity.