Kia Motors Third-Quarter Profit Surges 66% on Rising Global Vehicle Sales
Kia Motors Co., South Korea’s second-biggest automaker, boosted profit 66 percent in the third quarter as new models increased sales at home, in China and the United States.
Net income rose to 666.6 billion won ($593 million) in the three months ended Sept. 30 from 402 billion won a year earlier, the Seoul-based company said. That beat the 504 billion won average of 16 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Sales climbed 26 percent to 5.69 trillion won.
Kia raised global deliveries 24 percent as new models including the K5 midsize sedan and revamped Sorento sport- utility vehicle lifted sales at home and overseas, according to company data provided before the earnings announcement. In South Korea, Kia’s biggest market, sales rose 25 percent even as deliveries at Hyundai Motor Co., which owns 34 percent of Kia, declined 12 percent.
“Sales of Kia’s new models increased even with higher prices,” Lee Myung Hoon, a Seoul-based analyst at E*Trade Securities Co., said before the earnings announcement. “It’s likely there’ll be record quarterly earnings in the fourth quarter.”
Kia shares rose 0.6 percent to 43,800 won as of 9:46 a.m. in Seoul trading, compared with the benchmark Kospi index’s 0.9 percent decline. The stock has more than doubled in 2010.
Operating profit, or sales minus the cost of goods sold and administrative expenses, rose 34 percent to 421 billion won, Kia said.
The carmaker’s global retail sales increased to 541,884 vehicles in the third quarter from 438,467 a year earlier, according to company data. China sales climbed 18 percent and North America deliveries 8 percent.
Higher profits from Kia affiliates including Hyundai Mobis Co. and Hyundai Steel Co. also boosted earnings.
Hyundai Mobis, South Korea’s largest auto-parts maker, said yesterday third-quarter profit jumped 45 percent to 605 billion won as Kia and Hyundai Motor, its biggest clients, sold more vehicles.
Hyundai Motor said yesterday its net income surged 38 percent to 1.35 trillion won for the quarter on higher sales in overseas markets.
More Industry
Pennsylvania Dealership Under New Retailers
The sale of the Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram store puts a family auto group on a leaner path as first-time dealers take the helm.
Read More →
Battery Storage Takes Priority Over EVs
U.S. automakers are prioritizing battery energy stationary storage over electric-vehicle production as the consumer demand for EVs lags the rest of the world.
Read More →
Auto Dealers Feel Better But Not Great
A second-quarter Cox Automotive poll of franchised retailers and independents found better views of the current market after a good spring but anticipation of third-quarter storminess.
Read More →
New-Vehicle Sales Picture Relative
A May forecast is complicated by last spring’s trade tariff effects on auto retail. Despite continued hard realities, many consumers took advantage of ways to bite the bullet.
Read More →
Auto Group Acquires Third Nissan Rooftop
Iowa-based Coleman Automotive Group recently acquired its seventh dealership, McGrath Nissan, which it renamed Nissan of Elgin.
Read More →
April Less Affordable
Based on prices, reduced incentives and slower household income growth, consumers found it more challenging to buy new last month, Cox Automotive reported.
Read More →
Building an Extraordinary F&I Agency
Work to determine your specialized talent, because that fact will determine everything about your agency’s future.
Read More →
Recipe for Compliance
The secret to both amazing barbecue and compliance is the same: understanding the basics and committing to a process.
Read More →
EVs Getting More Attractive
A growing percentage of U.S. consumers are open to switching and fewer are adverse to the idea, according to a recently completed survey. That’s despite the end of a tax break.
Read More →
EV Sales Drop in April Following Surge
North American electric-vehicle sales were down 28% year-over-year, a sharp contrast from global EV sales growth of 6%.
Read More →