SEOUL, – Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea’s biggest carmaker, said Thursday its third-quarter net income soared more than 130 percent on-year thanks to a robust growth of its global sales.
Consolidated net profit came to 3.3 trillion won (US$2.4 billion) during the July-September period, up 134 percent from a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.
Sales grew 8.7 percent on-year to 41 trillion won while operating profit soared 146.3 percent to 3.82 trillion won.
The earnings exceeded market expectations. The average estimate of net profit by analysts stood at 2.87 trillion won, according to a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency.
Hyundai said it sold 1,045,510 vehicles in the global market in the third quarter, which represents a 2 percent increase compared to the same period in the previous year.
In particular, the company reported a 33.3 percent increase in global sales of eco-friendly vehicles thanks to its strengthened hybrid electric vehicle (EV) lineup, including new models of its Ioniq brand.
The rate of hybrid units among Hyundai’s total cars sold in the period rose to 8.6 percent from 5.7 percent last year. Those for EVs climbed to 6.3 percent from 5.1 percent.
Sales of the company’s luxury brand Genesis also gained traction, accounting for 5.1 percent of all Hyundai models sold in the period. The rate was recorded at 4.9 percent last year.
SUV models accounted for 54.7 percent of all cars sold by the company, excluding Genesis models, up from 50.6 percent last year. The rate reaches 57.8 percent when also counting Genesis SUV units.
The company, however, also noted elements of potential challenges, including the current tensions in the Middle East, persistent inflationary pressures and a possible reduction in demand in emerging economies due to high interest rates.
Hyundai added it plans to focus on enhancing the global recognition of its Ioniq brand and further expand sales of its eco-friendly vehicles by reinforcing its hybrid lineup.
It also plans to focus on improving the product mix of its premium models by introducing an updated Genesis GV80 model and a GV80 coupe model.
Despite slowing sales of EVs, Hyundai Motor Group aims to start production at its 300,000-unit-a-year EV and battery plant in Georgia in the second half of 2024 to benefit from tax credits for locally produced EVs, Seo Gang-hyun, executive vice president in charge of Hyundai’s finance and accounting division, said in the company’s earnings conference call.
In response to the Inflation Reduction Act which gives up to $7,500 in tax credits to buyers of EVs assembled only in North America, Hyundai Motor began to produce the all-electric GV70 SUVs at its Alabama plant early this year.
Shares in Hyundai Motor fell 1.37 percent to 179,500 won on the Seoul bourse Thursday in line with the broader Korea Composite Stock Price Index’s 2.71 percent loss.
Source: Yonhap News Agency