Hankook Tire swings to net loss in Q4

SEOUL, Jan. 19 (Yonhap) -- Hankook Tire Co., South Korea's largest tire maker,
said Monday it swung to a net loss in the final quarter of 2008 because of rising
prices of raw materials and the local currency's weakness against the U.S.
dollar.
The company lost 46.7 billion won (US$34.2 million) in the three months ended
Dec. 31, compared with a profit of 10.3 billion won for the same period a year
earlier, Hankook Tire said in a regulatory filing.
During the quarter, Hankook Tire's operating profit dropped 26.3 percent to 35.7
billion won. Sales rose 14.9 percent to 691.3 billion won.
For all of 2008, Hankook Tire's net profit plunged 80 percent to 32.4 billion
won, while sales rose 17.4 percent to 2.64 trillion won, according to the filing.
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