Hyundai's Q1 profit slides 2.3%, revenue hits new quarterly high

Hyundai Motor's profit dropped 2 percent in the first quarter, hit by weak car sales amid the subdued EV market.

Pictured is Hyundai Motor's headquarters in Yangjae-dong, southern Seoul. [YONHAP]

Hyundai Motor's profit dropped 2 percent in the first quarter, hit by weak car sales amid the subdued EV market.

Still, it logged an all-time record for quarterly sales thanks to its high-margin Genesis line and a weakened local currency that boosted its repatriated earnings.

The country's largest automaker logged 3.56 trillion won ($2.6 billion) in operating profit in the first quarter, down 2.3 percent on year and slightly falling short of the market consensus of 3.58 trillion won compiled by FnGuide.

Revenues rose 7.6 percent to 40.7 trillion won during the same period, a record-high figure for any first quarter in its history. It beat the market estimate of 39.6 trillion won.

Net profit fell 1.3 percent to 3.4 trillion won, also beating analysts estimates of 3 trillion won.

"Despite fewer car sales, revenues grew thanks to increased sales in overseas markets and high-margin vehicles," Hyundai Motor said in a statement.

The automaker sold about 1 million cars globally in the first three months of the year, down 1.5 percent on year.

At home, sales were down 16.3 percent to 159,967 units, as its Asan plant in South Chungcheong was temporarily shut down to upgrade equipment.

Overseas sales, in the meantime, rose 1.9 percent to 846,800 units thanks to increased exports to the North American and Indian regions.

Sales of eco-friendly cars also dipped down 4.8 percent to 153,519. Of them, 45,649 were battery-powered EVs, while 97,734 were hybrids.

Hyundai Motor aims to increase profitability by "expanding lineups for its Ioniq EV-dedicated brand" and "hybrid lineups."

Hyundai also said it will produce hybrids in its EV-dedicated plant in Georgia, which is slated to start operating in October.

"We will be upgrading equipment in the Georgia plant to produce hybrids there," said Lee Seung-jo, senior vice president at Hyundai Motor, during a conference call Thursday.

The company will pay a year-end dividend of 2,000 won per share, up 33.3 percent.

Hyundai Motor shares closed at 250,000 won, down 1 percent from the previous trading session.

Kia will release its first-quarter earnings report Friday.

BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]