SsangYong Motor loss smallest in 5 yrs on double-digit grown in shipments

[Photo by MK DB]

SsangYong Motor is set for a positive start under a new ownership if it graduates from the bankruptcy court as the South Korean SUV-focused carmaker delivered the smallest operating loss in five years in the first half.

SsangYong Motor on Tuesday disclosed its operating loss at 59.1 billion won ($45 million) for January-June period this year, sharply falling from 177.9 billion won loss in the same period last year and the smallest since the first half of 2018 when the carmaker entered court protection after its former Indian parent Mahindra & Mahindra denied further funding.

Net loss came to 30.3 billion won, one-sixth compared to 180.5 billion won loss reported a year earlier and the lowest since 2017.

Revenue came to 1.4 trillion won, up 23.8 percent on year.

[Source: SsangYong Motor Co.]

SsangYong Motor said it sold 47,709 cars in the first half, up 18.3 percent from a year ago. The carmaker has kept up quarterly growth in sales since the first quarter of last year. Exports in May hit six-year high by surging 42.7 percent on year. Its exports had topped 8,000 every month since March.

The company attributed the strong business improvement to its self-rescue program, ranging from cost-cutting efforts to upgrading product portfolio. Torres, its new SUV officially released in early July, has made a successful market debut with orders already topping 50,000. Pre-order began in mid-June. The automaker said it has been running on two shifts and pulling extra hours to assemble Torres and other SUVs as orders have grown at home and abroad.

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