Hyundai 2Q Profit Falls as Sales Rise

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea's Hyundai Motor said Thursday that its second-quarter net profit declined nearly 11 percent despite higher sales, and vowed to fight high oil prices by aggressively exporting more fuel efficient vehicles.

Hyundai Motor Co. earned 546.93 billion won ($542.1 million) in the three months ended June 30, the company said in a regulatory filing. That was 10.6 percent lower than the same period last year.

Sales during the quarter rose 12.8 percent to 9.12 trillion won ($9.03 billion) from 8.08 trillion won, it said.

Hyundai spokesmen could not immediately provide a reason for the decline in net profit for the second quarter.

In a news release, Hyundai said that net profit for the first half of 2008 rose 2.2 percent to 939.6 billion won ($931.6 million) while sales increased 17 percent to 17.3 trillion won ($17.2 billion).

Hyundai said it sold nearly 1.5 million vehicles during the first half, a 15 percent gain from a year earlier on the back of strong performance by top-end sedans such as the Genesis and the redesigned Sonata.

Hyundai Motor is South Korea's biggest automaker. Combined with affiliate Kia Motors Corp., it forms the world's sixth-largest automotive group.

Hyundai said higher prices for oil and raw materials were likely to continue in the second half. The carmaker said it would cut costs and export aggressively to overcome them.

"Higher oil prices and strong demand from emerging markets are boosting sales of small- and medium-sized sedans worldwide," it said.

Both Hyundai and Kia have been expanding aggressively overseas in recent years.

Hyundai has plants in China, India, Turkey and the United States. It is building a factory in the Czech Republic and has plans for others in Russia and Brazil.