Mahindra Group South Korean SUV specialist unit Ssangyong said sales and revenue grew more than 26% year on year in the second quarter of 2013 and 22% in the first half though the bottom line was an H1 after tax loss.
It booked a second quarter profit after sales rose which reduced the first half operating loss by 70.5%.
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“Efforts to achieve a turnaround are proceeding smoothly with the introduction of a two-shift system in assembly line three and the conclusion of wage negotiations without strike for fourth consecutive year in 2013,” the automaker said.
Ssangyong sold 29,286 vehicles in Korea and exported 40,174 (including CKD kits), a total of 69,460 in the first half of 2013. It booked revenue of KRW1,660.6bn and an operating loss of KRW14.3bn plus a net loss of KRW3bn.
However, the operating loss was 70% less than in H1 2012 (KRW48.6bn).
Ssangyong said it was was the only Korean company to see home market growth among domestic automakers in the sluggish first half, down 2.6%. Growing sales of the newly launched Turismo and other models in the Korando saw its Korean volume rise 34%.
Exports were up 15.4% due to increased sales in overseas markets such as Russia, Latin America and India.
Second quarter net profit was KRW6.2bn compared to a loss of 21.5bn won in Q2 2012.
CEO Lee Yoo-il said: “The combined effort to increase sales of our facelifted models and the synergy with Mahindra has ensured profitability and helped to turn around the company in the second quarter. We will continue to further increase our sales with the introduction of improved models such as the Korando C in the second half which will help improve our profitability.”
