ID :
57066
Thu, 04/23/2009 - 16:40
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/57066
The shortlink copeid
Hyundai Motor Q1 net down 42.7 pct on weak sales
(ATTN: UPDATES share price in 4th para; ADDS more details in 12-13 para, last three
paras)
SEOUL, April 23 (Yonhap) -- Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's top automaker, said
Thursday that its first-quarter profit declined 43 percent amid crippled sales
due to the global recession and increased marketing costs.
Net profit reached 225 billion won (US$167 million) in the January-March period,
compared with a profit of 393 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a
regulatory filing.
Sales fell 26 percent on-year to 6.03 trillion won, and operating income tumbled
71 percent to 154 billion won, it said.
Shares of Hyundai Motor closed at 68,100 won on the Seoul bourse, up 3.18 percent.
Hyundai Motor's drop in earnings was in line with market forecasts.
"The decline in Hyundai's earnings was expected," said Song Sang-hoon, an analyst
at Kyobo Securities. "But compared with other rivals, Hyundai Motor's bottom line
is good."
Analysts said falling production and increased marketing costs offset the won's
weakness against the U.S. dollar, which resulted in a weaker than expected
result.
The weakness of the local currency and government measures to boost domestic car
sales will benefit Hyundai Motor down the road, according to them.
The won dropped over 30 percent against the dollar and almost 40 percent versus
the yen in January-March from last year, boosting South Korean carmakers' price
competitiveness in overseas markets against Japanese rivals such as Toyota Motor
Corp.
The weaker won also helped Hyundai to boost marketing and incentives in the U.S.
to lure more customers.
The South Korean government plans to offer tax benefits in May-December to
customers who replace their old cars with new ones.
"From the second quarter, we expect economic stimulus measures and support plans
in some nations for the auto industry to have some positive effect on the
sector," Chung Tae-hwan, Hyundai's chief financial officer, said in an investor
relations session.
On Wednesday, the carmaker raised its 2009 China sales target more than 11
percent after tax cuts for small models boosted demand.
Hyundai Motor said in the first three months of the year, Hyundai sold a total of
316,366 units at home and overseas, down 28.6 percent from a year earlier.
Its domestic sales declined 18.3 percent to 129,252 units, while overseas sales
dropped 34.3 percent to 187,114 units, it said.
"We plan to raise our factory utilization to above 85 percent in the second
quarter from the below 70-percent degree in the first quarter as stockpiles are
reduced to some degree," Chung said.
Park Hwa-jin, an analyst at Shinyoung Securities, also said Hyundai Motor's
production will slowly gain pace from the second quarter as well as its earnings.
Hyundai Motor said its global market share rose to 4.7 percent in the first
quarter, 0.7 percentage points higher than a year earlier.
sam@yna.co.kr
(END)
paras)
SEOUL, April 23 (Yonhap) -- Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's top automaker, said
Thursday that its first-quarter profit declined 43 percent amid crippled sales
due to the global recession and increased marketing costs.
Net profit reached 225 billion won (US$167 million) in the January-March period,
compared with a profit of 393 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a
regulatory filing.
Sales fell 26 percent on-year to 6.03 trillion won, and operating income tumbled
71 percent to 154 billion won, it said.
Shares of Hyundai Motor closed at 68,100 won on the Seoul bourse, up 3.18 percent.
Hyundai Motor's drop in earnings was in line with market forecasts.
"The decline in Hyundai's earnings was expected," said Song Sang-hoon, an analyst
at Kyobo Securities. "But compared with other rivals, Hyundai Motor's bottom line
is good."
Analysts said falling production and increased marketing costs offset the won's
weakness against the U.S. dollar, which resulted in a weaker than expected
result.
The weakness of the local currency and government measures to boost domestic car
sales will benefit Hyundai Motor down the road, according to them.
The won dropped over 30 percent against the dollar and almost 40 percent versus
the yen in January-March from last year, boosting South Korean carmakers' price
competitiveness in overseas markets against Japanese rivals such as Toyota Motor
Corp.
The weaker won also helped Hyundai to boost marketing and incentives in the U.S.
to lure more customers.
The South Korean government plans to offer tax benefits in May-December to
customers who replace their old cars with new ones.
"From the second quarter, we expect economic stimulus measures and support plans
in some nations for the auto industry to have some positive effect on the
sector," Chung Tae-hwan, Hyundai's chief financial officer, said in an investor
relations session.
On Wednesday, the carmaker raised its 2009 China sales target more than 11
percent after tax cuts for small models boosted demand.
Hyundai Motor said in the first three months of the year, Hyundai sold a total of
316,366 units at home and overseas, down 28.6 percent from a year earlier.
Its domestic sales declined 18.3 percent to 129,252 units, while overseas sales
dropped 34.3 percent to 187,114 units, it said.
"We plan to raise our factory utilization to above 85 percent in the second
quarter from the below 70-percent degree in the first quarter as stockpiles are
reduced to some degree," Chung said.
Park Hwa-jin, an analyst at Shinyoung Securities, also said Hyundai Motor's
production will slowly gain pace from the second quarter as well as its earnings.
Hyundai Motor said its global market share rose to 4.7 percent in the first
quarter, 0.7 percentage points higher than a year earlier.
sam@yna.co.kr
(END)
