Hyundai Q4 net more than doubles on improved chip supplies

Hyundai Motor said on Thursday that its fourth-quarter net profit more than doubled from a year earlier on improved chip supplies, strong demand for its high-end SUVs and a weak won. Net profit for the three months ended Dec. 31 jumped to 1.709 trillion won (US$1.38 billion) from 701.37 billion won during the same period of last year, the South Korean carmaker said in a statement. “An improved product mix, low incentives, the won’s weakness (against the dollar) buoyed the quarterly bottomline despite high inflation and global economic slowdown,” Seo Gang-hyun, executive vice president in charge of Hyundai’s finance and accounting division, said in the company’s earnings conference call. Improved chip supplies led to increased production and sales, while increased sales of high-margin SUVs and a weak won enhanced profitability, he said, reports Yonhap news agency. Looking ahead, however, he expressed concerns that geopolitical risks such as the Russia-Ukraine war and possible U.S. rate hikes may continue to weigh on consumer demand this year. Operating profit also more than doubled to 3.359 trillion won in the fourth quarter from 1.529 trillion won a year ago. Sales rose 24 percent to 38.523 trillion won from 31.026 trillion won during the same period. For the whole of 2022, net income jumped 40 percent to 7.983 trillion won from 5.693 trillion won the previous year.