(LEAD) Hyundai Q2 net jumps 23 pct on currency, SUV sales

All News 14:54 July 22, 2019

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SEOUL, July 22 (Yonhap) -- Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's biggest carmaker by sales, on Monday posted a 23 percent on-year rise in its second-quarter net profit on a weak won and strong demand for SUVs.

Net profit for the April-June period rose to 999 billion won (US$849 million) from 811 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a statement.

"An extended U.S.-China trade war and concerns of a further economic slowdown weighed on vehicle demand in major markets. But the won's weakness against the dollar and robust sales of the Palisade SUV and the all-new Sonata sedan buoyed the bottom line, it said.

The Korean won weakened to an average of 1,165.91 won to the U.S. dollar in the second quarter, from an average of 1,078.57 won in the year-ago period, according to the Bank of Korea. A weak won drives up the value of dollar-denominated overseas earnings when converted into the local currency.

In overseas markets, increased sales in the United States helped offset decreased demand in China, the world's biggest automobile market.

Sales in the U.S. rose 2.9 percent to 192,000 vehicles in the second quarter from 186,000 units a year ago. But sales in China dropped 8.2 percent to 159,000 autos from 174,000 units over the same period, the statement said.

Operating profit jumped 30 percent to 1.24 trillion won in the June quarter from 951 billion won a year ago, with an operating profit margin rising to 4.6 percent from 3.8 percent.

Sales climbed 9.1 percent to 26.9 trillion won from 24.71 trillion won, it said.

In the January-June period, Hyundai Motor's net profit climbed 27 percent to 1.95 trillion won from 1.54 trillion won over the cited period. Operating profit gained 26 percent on-year to 2.06 trillion won, and its revenue also advanced 8.1 percent to 50.9 trillion won.