Hyundai's Operating Profit Plunges by Half

Hyundai Motor's operating profit in the first quarter of this year halved from the same period of last year, the carmaker said Thursday.

The poor earnings were due to a five-day partial strike in January that resulted in 20,000 fewer cars being produced. This was exacerbated by the strong won, which makes Korean cars more expensive overseas.

Hyundai's first-quarter operating profit fell 45.5 percent on-year to W618.3 billion, while net profit dropped 48 percent to W731.6 billion (US$1=W1,080). Sales dropped four percent to W22.44 trillion.

Hyundai said it expects earnings to rebound in the second quarter due to new SUV models being rolled out.

The Korean automaker sold 1.05 million cars around the world from January to March, down 1.7 percent on-year. But if China is excluded, global sales were up 2.8 percent.

The problem is that the strengthening won pared down operating and net profits. The won strengthened from W1,144.5 to the U.S. dollar in March last year to W1,083 last month.