Renault Samsung's 2018 net profit falls 27 pct on weak sales

SEOUL, May 2 (Yonhap) -- Renault Samsung Motors Corp., the South Korean unit of Renault S.A., said Thursday its net profit plunged 27 percent in 2018 from a year earlier on weak sales.

Net profit fell to 222 billion won (US$191 million) last year from the previous year's 305 billion won, the company said in a regulatory filing with the Financial Supervisory Service.

Operating profit also declined 11 percent to 354 billion won from 402 billion won over the cited period. Sales were down 17 percent to 5.59 trillion won from 6.71 trillion won, it said.

For the whole of 2018, its auto sales dropped 18 percent on-year to 227,577 units from 276,808 units due to a lack of new models.

The company's current lineup includes the SM3 compact, the all-electric SM3 Z.E. sedan, the QM3 small SUV, the QM6 midsize SUV, and the SM5, SM6, and SM7 sedans.

France's Renault has an 80 percent stake in Renault Samsung.

kyongae.choi@yna.co.kr
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