Seoul, Apr 26: Kia, South Korea’s second-largest automaker, on Friday reported record sales for the first quarter, backed by robust demand for hybrid and high-margin vehicles, although operating profit dropped due to a base effect.Kia’s sales during the January-March period gained 6.9 percent from a year earlier to 28.01 trillion won (US$19.53 billion) on a consolidated basis, setting an all-time high for a first quarter, the company said in a regulatory filing.
Operating profit totalled 3 trillion won for the quarter, down 12.2 percent on-year, while net profit dropped 14.8 percent to 2.39 trillion won.
Although reporting record first-quarter sales, the earnings fell behind market expectations. The average estimate of net profit by analysts stood at 2.46 trillion won, according to a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency.