Ssangyong Back in the Black

Korea's smallest carmaker Ssangyong Motor returned to the black in both operating profit and current net profit with the highest earnings in 30 quarters in April to June.

It made a small profit in the third quarter of 2010, but that was due to the W112.5 billion cash injection from sales of property in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province. Apart from that this is the first time the SUV maker made a profit since the third quarter of 2007.

Sales reached W907 billion, operating profit W3.7 billion, and current net profit W6.2 billion in the second quarter (US$1=W1,114), the automaker said on Monday. Sales grew 26.9 percent from the same period last year.

Ssangyong sold a total of 38,195 cars in the quarter -- 15,993 in the domestic market and 22,202 overseas, the best results since the fourth quarter of 2005, when the figure stood at 41,293.

It saw a whopping 34.8 percent on-year growth in the number of cars sold here for the first seven months of this year, bolstered by brisk sales of its flagship Korando C and Korando Turismo.

The results are especially impressive since total sales of Korean cars dwindled 1.7 percent on-year over the same period. Ssangyong also saw its market share rise from 3.2 percent in 2012 to 4.4 percent this year, edging out Renault Samsung with 3.9 percent.

The carmaker attributed the turnaround to increased sales of new cars and the fact that it and parent company Mahindra tightened their belts to secure profitability.

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