Hyundai Motor's operating profit fell to the lowest in five years in the first quarter. Operating profit was 1.34 trillion won during the January-March period, down 15.5 percent from the same period last year.
The automaker blamed weak emerging market currencies including Russia and a decline in factory utilization rates for poor Q1 earnings results.
Sales of the Genesis EQ900, the first top-of-the-line model under its new Genesis brand, and SUVs rose, bringing the company’s Q1 sales to an all-time high: 22.35 trillion won. Net profit dipped 10.8 percent to 1.77 trillion won during the same period.
Domestic sales gained 3.7 percent y-o-y to 160,577 units in the first quarter. Overseas sales fell 7.9 percent to 946,800 as falling oil prices weighed heavily on the global economy. As a result, total sales lost 6.4 percent y-o-y to 1,107,377 units in the first quarter.
Hyundai Motor said: “The new Avente will go on sale in major markets including the US and China in the second quarter. Besides, foreign exchange rates are likely to change in our favor, so we pin high hopes on Q2 earnings.”
