Hyundai Motor has posted results for 2016 that show a 2.1% annual decline in vehicle sales and net profit off 12.1% on the previous year.
The company was hit by heavy discounting in the US, higher costs caused by strikes in Korea and continued sluggish sales in emerging markets.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
For the year 2016, Hyundai Motor Company’s global sales totalled 4,857,933 units (Korea: 656,526 / overseas: 4,201,407), down 2.1%year-on-year.
Despite the year-on-year decrease in sales, Hyundai Motor’s sales revenue increased 1.8% to KRW 93.65 trillion (auto: KRW 72.68 trillion / finance and others: KRW 20.97 trillion) from a year earlier owing to sales increase of upscale SUVs and GENESIS models. Operating profit fell 18.3% to KRW 5.19 trillion and net profit showed a 12.1% decrease to KRW 5.72 trillion, for 2016.
Addressing the outlook, the company said it forecasts the business environment to be “ever more uncertain due to continued sluggish global economy and possibility of increase in protectionist trade policies”.
Nevertheless, it said Hyundai Motor will continue its effort to focus on strengthening competitiveness and product quality in the global automotive market. Hyundai Motor “will launch variety of new cars and boost sales of SUVs, GENESIS models and eco-friendly models”, it said.
Reuters reported that Hyundai Motor reported a fourth quarter net profit of 1 trillion won, well below the 1.5 trillion won average estimate of 14 analysts it polled.
Hyundai Motor is considering adding a US factory to build SUVs and premium Genesis cars. It already has a US plant.
Analysts say incentive spending in the US is rising as the market tops out.
