Hyundai reports record fourth-quarter results

Hyundai Motors announced yesterday it earned KRW1.4 trillion ($1.3 billion) it the last three months of last year. The company is already South Korea’s largest carmaker, but it is also becoming a force to be reckoned with on the global market.

Its aggressive overseas expansion plan in China, India, Turkey, the United States, the Czech Republic and, from late last year, Russia, has made it the world’s fifth largest automaker.

The maker of the Elantra and the popular new Sonata sedan reported the value of its sales rose 3.1 percent in the third quarter of 2010, compared to the same period of last year. According to company spokesperson Song Meeyoung, the net profit and sales figures were all-time quarterly highs.

By volume, sales grew by 5.1 percent to 943,791 vehicles in the fourth quarter and rose 16.3 percent to a record 3.61 million for 2010. Despite this, global market share remained unchanged from 2009’s 5.2 percent, according to Song.

The company’s annual profit rose by 78 percent in 2010, while sales gained 15.4 percent, showing the company is increasing it’s profit margins. Although the forth quarter results were not broke down into markets, Hyundai said its operations in China, India, the United States, the Czech Republic and Turkey all contributed to earnings in 2010.

The US market was particularly strong, with sales volume increasing 53.9 percent for the year, while revenue rose 46.8 percent. Operations in China saw sales rise by 23.3 percent to 703,000 vehicles and revenue gaining 20.8 percent.

Hyundai Motor’s shares fell 0.8 percent in yesterday's Soul trading, though they are still up 13 percent since the beginning of the year.