Hyundai Motor’s 1Q profit halved on grim US, China sales

SEOUL, Korea, Republic Of — Hyundai Motor says its first-quarter profit has plunged to the lowest level in more than eight years as sales dwindled in the United States and China.

South Korea’s largest automaker said Thursday its January-March earnings sank a larger-than-expected 48 per cent to 731.6 billion won ($677.3 million), compared with 1.4 trillion won a year earlier.

Quarterly profit was nearly halved as car sales in China and the United States continued to fall. The company also blamed the local currency’s steep rise against the U.S. dollar and its union’s walkout.

Sales fell 4 per cent to 22.4 trillion won ($20.7 billion) while operating income also sank 46 per cent to 681.3 billion won ($631 million) during the three-month period.

Its first-quarter car sales fell 2 per cent over a year earlier to 1.05 million units.