Kia Motors 2009 net profit soars nearly 12-fold to 1.45 trillion won

(ATTN: UPDATES with details)
SEOUL, Jan. 29 (Yonhap) -- Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's second-largest
automaker, said Friday it posted a nearly 12-fold jump in full-year net profit
for 2009, boosted by a soft Korean currency and global efforts to spur auto
demand.
Kia earned 1.45 trillion won (US$1.25 billion) in 2009, compared with a net
profit of 113.7 billion won in 2008, the company said in a regulatory filing.
Full-year sales rose 12.4 percent from a year ago to 18.4 trillion won last year.

Operating profit jumped to 1.14 trillion won last year, compared with 308.5
billion won in 2008, according to the filing.
Last year, Kia's vehicle sales rose 9.3 percent to 1.53 million units, despite
the global auto industry's worst slump in decades.
Kia, an affiliate of Hyundai Motor Co., aims to increase global sales to 1.94
million units this year, up 27 percent from last year.
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