Hyundai Motor affiliate Kia said yesterday that net profit for the first quarter fell 14% due to a drop in vehicle sales.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
Net income fell to 98.9 billion won ($US78 million) in January-March 2002 period from 115.5 billion won in Q1 2001. Operating profit fell 31% to 120.2 billion won, while sales slipped 1.6% to 2.8 billion won.
Bloomberg News reported that Kia’s overall sales reduced during the quarter because it revamped assembly lines to prepare to build new Sorento and Carens sport-utility vehicles.
According to Bloomberg, Kia sold 221,437 vehicles in the first three months, 5.9% fewer than a year earlier. Domestic sales rose 8.9% to 98,526 vehicles but exports dropped 15% to 122,911 units.
Bloomberg said that Kia expects full-year sales to rise 12% to 13.9 trillion won and projects this year’s vehicle sales will rise 6.6% to 962,000 units.
