Hyundai Motor’s Profits Fell to 9.5%

Hyundai Motor Company’s business profit rate fell to a single digit, showing negative growth for the first time in three years. This can be attributed to the global economic recession, the weak dollar, and the weak yen. Things are not favorable for the company this year, either. 

The automaker held a yearly earnings announcement conference call on January 23 and said that it sold 4,732,366 vehicles last year to record 87.3076 trillion won (US$81.1961 billion) in sales, 8.3155 trillion won (US$7.7334 billion) in operating profits, 11.6967 trillion won (US$10.8779 billion) in ordinary income and 8.9935 trillion won (US$8.3640 billion) in net profits. 

The turnover increased 3.4% from a year earlier but the operating profit rate fell 0.5 percentage points to 9.5%. The former increased thanks to its performance in the United States, China and other overseas markets and the consolidated corporate income tax system. 

Meanwhile, the operating profits dropped due to the sluggish performance and strikes in Korea. The appreciation of the won and the depreciation of the Japanese yen exacerbated the situation as well.