By Kim Tae-jong
Hyundai Motor announced Thursday that it posted record earnings last year thanks to brisk performances overseas, maintaining steady growth.
It had sales of 84.4 trillion won, up 8.6 percent from 2011, with operating profit of 8.4 trillion won, up 5.1 percent up from the previous year, the nation’s largest automaker said in a regulatory filing.
Net profit increased to 9.06 trillion won, up 11.7 percent from 8.1 trillion won a year earlier.
The auto giant sold 4.41 million vehicles, up 8.6 percent from the previous year. Of them, 3.74 million were sold abroad. In the domestic market, it saw a 2.2 percent decline in sales, moving about 667,000 vehicles.
It faced difficulties in the second half of last year, due mainly to a strong local currency.
“Last year, we continued to grow thanks to brisk sales in overseas markets. But growth slowed as we saw a slight decline in sales in the second half of the year compared to the first half, due to various factors such as a firming won,” an official from the company said.
Hyundai sold 1.2 million cars, posting 22.7 trillion won in sales in the fourth quarter, up 10.7 percent from the same period in 2011. But its operating profit for that quarter dropped 11.7 percent to 1.8 trillion won.
For stable growth, the automaker said it will enhance its brand image through the production of high-quality, next-generation vehicles and aggressively tap into overseas markets. It has vowed to sell over 4.66 million cars this year.
“The global automobile market is expected to see only about 3 percent growth this year due to the global recession. The competition between global brands will be much fiercer, and governments will take more protectionist measures,” the official said.
Hyundai is also concerned about the impact of the weakening yen coupled with a strengthening won, which has a negative impact on its price competitiveness and exports.
“Despite such unfavorable market conditions, we will continue to grow this year. We will focus more on the Chinese market and also increase our presence in Brazil where we have a local manufacturing facility,” the official said.