Kia has announced a surge in operating profit in the 2020 fourth quarter, as quarterly revenue grow 5% year-on-year to KRW16.91 trillion.

During the October-December period, Kia sold 742,695 units across global markets, a slight decrease from 742,733 units compared to the same period last year. Sales in Korea decreased 5.2% to 137,389 units, due to the ongoing challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic and product disruptions.

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However, sales outside of Korea climbed 1.2% to 605,306 with strong recovery in the US, alongside significant growth in India, Kia said.

The company’s fourth quarter operating profit more than doubled from a year earlier to KRW 1.28 trillion, with an operating profit margin at 7.6%. The company’s net profit also increased to KRW 976.8 billion, up 182% during the same period.

Kia said the strong performance was supported by Kia’s enhanced global product mix and ongoing success of the brand’s high-margin RV models, including Telluride, Seltos, and Sorento SUVs and the Carnival minivan. Sales of Kia’s RV models accounted for 58.7% of the total sales volume, the highest RV share ever and leading overall profit growth.

For full-year 2020, Kia’s revenue rose 1.8% to KRW59.17 trillion from KRW58.15 trillion in 2019, while operating profit advanced 2.8% to KRW 2.1 trillion, up from KRW2 trillion. Net profit decreased by 17.7% to KRW 1.5 trillion.

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Full-year global sales volume decreased 7.6% from 2019 to 2.61 million units, with 552,400 units sold in Korea and 2.05 million across the rest of the world.

For 2021, Kia is targeting global sales of 2.92 million units, a 12.1% increase compared to 2020 global sales volume. The company is targeting sales in Korea of 535,000 units and 2.39 million units for sales outside of Korea. Kia said it will launch its first dedicated battery electric vehicle model this year.

See also: Hyundai operating profit up 41% in Q4

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