Kia Motors Q4 net nearly doubles on weaker won

(ATTN: RECASTS headline; UPDATES throughout with more figures, quote)
SEOUL, Jan. 22 (Yonhap) -- Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's second-largest
automaker, said Thursday its net profit nearly doubled in the final quarter of
2008, helped by a weaker local currency.

Kia, an affiliate of Hyundai Motor Co., earned 74.8 billion won (US$54.8 million)
in the October-December period, compared with a profit of 37.9 billion won a year
earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.
Sales gained 7.5 percent to 5.04 trillion won, but operating profit plunged 63.3
percent from a year ago to 35.9 billion won, it said.
The fourth-quarter bottom line, however, was far below a forecast of 128 billion
won from 14 analysts polled by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap
News Agency.
The Korean won fell 32 percent against the U.S. dollar in the fourth quarter of
last year, making Kia vehicles cheaper overseas and increasing the value of
sales.
Analysts say Kia and Hyundai are better positioned to weather the crisis of the
global auto industry because they focus on cheaper and smaller cars than rivals.
For all of 2008, Kia's net profit soared more than eight times to 113.8 billion
won. Full-year sales rose 2.7 percent to 16.4 trillion won.
"Last year, Kia Motors posted profits thanks to higher sales of new cars and a
weaker won," said Lee Jong-rok, chief financial officer at Kia.
"While business conditions are expected to worsen this year, we will make utmost
efforts to turn the crisis into an opportunity," Lee said.
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