By Kwanwoo Jun
Hyundai Motor posted solid net profit growth in the final quarter of 2023 on brisk sales of high-end vehicles and favorable foreign exchange conditions but missed street views.
Fourth-quarter net profit was 2.203 trillion Korean won ($1.6 billion), up 29% from a year earlier, the South Korean carmaker said Thursday. That missed a FactSet-compiled consensus forecast for a net profit of KRW2.702 trillion for the quarter.
Costs related to the sale of a loss-making dormant factory in Russia, which has been at war with Ukraine, weighed on the quarterly results, the company said.
Revenue rose 8.3% to KRW41.669 trillion while operating profit edged up 0.2% to KRW3.408 trillion.
For the full year of 2023, revenue rose 14% to KRW162.664 trillion, net profit gained 54% to KRW12.272 trillion and operating profit also climbed 54% to an annual record of KRW15.127 trillion, comfortably beating the previous record of KRW9.825 trillion set in 2022.
Brisk sales of luxury sedans and high-end cars, including electric and sport-utility vehicles, led to solid full-year earnings growth.
For 2024, the company flagged possibly tough business conditions citing economic uncertainties in emerging markets, a downturn in the real economy, volatile foreign-exchange rates, and intensified competition among car makers globally.
Hyundai Motor said it aims to sell 4.24 million vehicles globally this year, up 0.6% from 2023. It plans to invest KRW12.4 trillion in 2024.
Write to Kwanwoo Jun at kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
01-25-24 0226ET