Hyundai Motor Posted Solid Fourth-Quarter Profit Growth But Missed Street Views

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

January 25, 2024 02:26 ET (07:26 GMT)

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