Kia logs record profit, revenue in Q1 on weak won

Kia Corp., the second-largest automaker in South Korea, posted record quarterly profit and revenue for the first three months of this year, backed by favorable dollar-won exchange rates and increased sales of high-end models despite a slight decline in the number of cars sold.

The automaker and sister of Hyundai Motor Co. logged 3.43 trillion won ($2.5 billion) in operating profit, up 19.2% from a year earlier, and 26.21 trillion won in revenue, up 10.6% on-year, on a consolidated basis in its first-quarter earnings report on Friday.

The quarterly operating profit margin reached a record high of 13.1%.

By unit, car sales slightly declined due to slowing electric vehicle demand and a temporary supply shortage of cars with combustion engines and hybrid vehicles, Kia said in a statement.

On the other hand, the automaker raised profitability thanks to increased sales of models with higher margins, improved product mix, decreased material costs and the strong dollar against the Korean won, the official added.

Kia’s car sales for the first quarter fell 1.0% on-year to 760,515 units. The automaker sold 622,644 cars overseas, down 0.6%``` from a year earlier.   

The number of car sales increased in key regions such as North America and Europe but dropped in new markets including India and the Middle East given intensifying industry competition and geopolitical concerns, Kia noted.

The company’s quarterly car sales in North America, its biggest market, increased 3.6% on-year to 255,000 units. Kia said it will improve its sales in the region by launching a hybrid Carnival model in the second quarter and the K4 in the third quarter.  

It sold 146,000 cars in Western Europe, up 0.9% on-year thanks to improved Kia Sportage and Ceed sales. The carmaker will strengthen its electric car sales through strategic promotion of the EV6 and Niro EV.

In India, the quarterly sales plunged 12.5% on-year to 65,000 units. Despite 29,000 units of its Sonet sales, global peers’ new models intensified the market competition.

The company sold 137,871 units during the quarter in Korea, down 2.9% from a year earlier. The decline came from decreased sales of EVs despite expanded revenue from sport utility vehicles such as the Sportage, the Carnival and the Sorento.

Write to Nan-Sae Bin at binthere@hankyung.com

Jihyun Kim edited this article.