Ssangyong Motor suffers 177 bln won loss in Q2

SEOUL, Aug. 14 (Yonhap) -- Ssangyong Motor Co., South Korea's smallest carmaker
currently under bankruptcy protection, said Friday it posted a seventh
consecutive quarterly loss in the second quarter due mainly to a plunge in sales
and a months-long strike.
Net loss reached 177 billion won (US$144 million) in the April-June period, the
company said in a regulatory filing. Sales plunged 66 percent on-year to 222
billion won, and operating loss increased 15 percent to 27.4 billion won, it
said.
In the first half of the year, net loss reached 443 billion won. Sales also
plunged 66 percent to 455 billion won with operating loss totaling 153 billion
won, it added.
Ssangyong's operations have been suspended for months as unionized workers
occupied the automaker's only plant in Pyeongtaek, about 70km south of Seoul, in
protest against massive layoffs.
Hundreds of unionized workers occupied the plant for 77 days, battling riot
police with firebombs and steel pipes.
Last Thursday, they agreed to end their occupation after a massive police raid.
Ssangyong resumed output Thursday after an 83-day production stoppage due to a
labor strike.
The months-long strike also cost the carmaker 316 billion won in lost production.
In the first six months of this year, vehicle sales by Ssangyong, which has an
annual production capacity of 200,000 units, plunged 73.9 percent from the same
period last year to 13,020 units.
The automaker's sales plunged 99 percent to 71 vehicles last month, making it
more difficult to come out of bankruptcy.
SAIC Motor Corp., China's biggest domestic automaker, lost management control
when Ssangyong entered receivership in February. A bankruptcy court gave the
South Korean company until Sept. 15 to submit a turnaround plan.
sam@yna.co.kr
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