Ssangyong Motor swings to loss in Q3 on weak sales

SEOUL, Oct. 29 (Yonhap) -- Ssangyong Motor Corp., the South Korean unit of
China's Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp., said Wednesday that it suffered a
loss in the third quarter as rising fuel costs and an economic slump reduced
domestic sales.
The automaker posted a loss of 28.2 billion won (US$20 million) in the
July-September period, compared with a profit of 1.2 billion a year earlier, the
company said in a statement.
The third-quarter loss, however, narrowed from a loss of 35.7 billion won in the
previous quarter, it said.
Sales dropped 8.2 percent to 684 billion won over the cited period, and its
operating loss reached 48.3 billion won, according to the automaker.
Shares of Ssangyong Motor were trading at 1,120 won on the Seoul bourse as of
1:00 p.m., up 1.26 percent.
Since early this year, Ssangyong, South Korea's smallest automaker, has been hit
hard by high oil prices because its line-up is dominated by fuel-guzzling
sport-utility vehicles and large-size sedans.