Hyundai Motor’s profit hits five-year low

Seoul, Jan 26 (IANS) Hyundai Motor, South Korea’s top automaker, saw operating profit fall to the lowest in five years in 2015, a regulatory filing showed on Tuesday.

Operating profit tumbled 15.8 percent from a year earlier to 6.36 trillion won ($5.3 billion) in 2015, the lowest since 2010 when Hyundai recorded 5.92 trillion won in operating profit.

Net profit declined 14.9 percent to 6.51 trillion won last year but revenue increased three percent to a record high of 91.96 trillion won thanks to robust auto sales.

Hyundai’s global auto sales reached 49,63,023 units in 2015, the largest annual shipment in the company’s history.

The brisk sales were damaged by a sharp depreciation of emerging market currencies, resulting in low profitability in overseas sales. Investment in research and development also contributed to the profit fall.