Kia Motors may suffer huge Q3 losses, analyst says

SEOUL, Oct. 15 (Yonhap) -- Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's second-largest automaker, is likely to report its first operating loss in a year for the third quarter of this year, hit by mounting currency-related losses and sluggish sales, an analyst said Wednesday.

In the three months ending Sept. 30, Kia is also expected to post a net loss of
86.8 billion won (US$70 million), compared with a loss of 55.1 billion won for
the same period a year earlier, according to Solomon Investment and Securities
analyst Chae Hee-keun.
"Kia Motors is on track to post 39.5 billion won in operating loss for the third
quarter," Chae wrote to clients.
What he found was that Kia's factory operating ratio fell to 66.4 percent in the
July-September period, compared with a ratio of 79.4 percent three months ago,
amid falling sales.
"Quarterly losses will likely widen as losses related to foreign currency debts
rose by 130 billion won for the quarter," the analyst said.
As of the end of June, Kia was saddled with foreign currency debts worth 2.23
trillion won, Chae said.
Officials at Kia's public relations team in Seoul weren't immediately available
for comment on the analyst's report.
Last month, Kia said its vehicle sales fell 12 percent from a year earlier to
96,734 units.
Kia, an affiliate of Hyundai Motor Co., plans to release its third-quarter
earnings on Oct. 24.