April 27, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Hyundai Motor said on Jan. 24 it shifted to a net loss in the fourth quarter of 2018 due to a strong Korean currency and drop in demand in major markets.

The carmaker posted a net loss of 203.3 billion won (US$180 million) in for the three months that ended in December. This is down significantly from a net profit of 1.288 trillion won a year earlier, the company said in a statement.

The net result was affected by the won’s strength against the US dollar, as well as currencies in emerging markets and weak sales in the United States and China, the statement said.

Operating profit fell 35 percent to 501.1 billion won in the fourth quarter from 775.2 billion won a year ago. Sales rose 4.8 percent to 25.669 trillion won from 24.501 trillion won during the same period.

For the whole of 2018, net profit plunged 64 percent to 1.645 trillion won from 4.546 trillion won a year earlier.

By Song Seung-hyun and newswires (ssh@heraldcorp.com)