Hyundai Motor Q4 OP up 41 % on year, bumps up capex, sales target

(Updated with conference call comments, additional data)

South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co. pledged to increase investment by 6 percent and bolster sales by 14 to 15 percent this year in show of confidence after reporting a sharp income improvement in the final quarter ended December on brisk sales of SUV models like Tucson and luxury marquee Genesis’ G80, GV70 and GV 80.

The country’s largest automaker on Tuesday earmarked 8.9 trillion won ($8.06 billion) for 2021 capex – 3.5 trillion won on R&D, 4.5 trillion won on facilities and 0.9 trillion won on strategies, a modest gain from last year’s spending of 8.4 trillion won.

It also will continue with shareholder rewards by paying out yearly cash dividend of 3,000 won or more per share, keeping the scheme unchanged or slightly increased from a year earlier.

The auto giant in its regulatory filing on Tuesday said its consolidated operating profit reached 1.64 trillion won ($1.49 billion) in the October-December period, reversing from a loss of 313.8 billion won three months ago and gaining 40.9 percent from a year earlier.

Net profit came at 1.38 trillion won, swinging from a loss of 188.8 billion won a quarter ago and adding 78.3 percent against the previous year. Sales rose 6 percent on quarter and 5.1 percent on year to 29.24 trillion won.

Operating margin, which measures income against sales, reached 5.6 percent, new record since the third quarter of 2017.

The results hovered slightly below the market consensus of 1.71 trillion won in operating profit and 29.37 trillion won in revenue compiled by Seoul-based financial data provider FnGuide as of Monday.

“New car models including large SUV Tucson and luxury marquee Genesis’ G80, GV70 and GV80 were well received by consumers, driving the robust performance in the final quarter of last year,” said Lee Cheol-gon, a senior executive at the investor relations division in a conference call.

Hyundai Motor shares closed 3.27 percent lower at 251,500 won on Tuesday in Seoul trading.

For full 2020, Hyundai Motor’s operating profit lost 22.9 percent to 2.78 trillion won from a year ago due to plunged sales outside Korea amid the pandemic slowdown. Net profit slid 33.5 percent on year to 2.12 trillion won, while sales fell 1.7 percent to 104 trillion won.

From October to December, Hyundai Motor sold 1,139,583 cars worldwide, down 4.7 percent on year. When excluding China, car sales rose 1.5 percent to total 9.96 million units. Sales at home added 5 percent to 204,190 units, while overseas sales slipped 6.6 percent to 935,393 units.

For full 2020, the company sold a total of 3,744,737 cars, down 15.4 percent from the previous year. When excluding China, the automaker sold 32.99 million units, down 12.2 percent.

In its guidance for 2021, Hyundai Motor estimated a 14-15 percent jump in full-year revenue, with an operating margin at 4-5 percent.

“Despite unfavorable market conditions, the company targets to sell a total of 4.16 million cars globally this year – 741,500 units at home and 3,418,500 units abroad – with focus on Genesis and Ioniq brands’ stable entry into the global market, sales growth of SUVs and optimalization of profitability,” said Lee.

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