Hyundai have beaten forecasts with a record quarterly profit as government incentives fueled strong global sales of its cheap, fuel-efficient models, setting the bar impossibly high for its struggling Japanese rivals.
Hyundai's tripling in third quarter net profit comes as the global industry struggles to emerge from an unprecedented downturn that drove Chrysler and GM. to bankruptcy.
Honda is the only major Japanese carmaker expected to post an operating profit in the fiscal first half, the Nikkei business daily reported today.
Hyundai has taken advantage of the turmoil, ramping up its marketing spend to gain market share. It now looks set to challenge Germany's Volkswagen as the most profitable of the world's major carmakers this year.
But Hyundai warned a firmer Korean currency, rising oil prices and higher interest rates might hit earnings in the months ahead and its shares were little moved after a 50 percent surge in the third quarter.
Hyundai overtook Ford to become the world's fourth-largest car maker by sales in the first half of this year when combined with their affiliate Kia.
Hyundai posted a net profit of 979.1 billion won ($832 million) in the third quarter, more than three times the 264.8 billion won of a year ago and beating a 616.3 billion won forecast by 11 analysts in a Reuters poll. Net profits were boosted by equity gains from overseas units, the company said.
Its operating profit of 586.8 billion won beat a forecast for a 561.2 billion won profit and sales rose 34 percent to 8.1 trillion won.
Source: Automotive News
We are always looking for experienced writers who can write good original quality posts on motor-trade-insider.com. Please 