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SEOUL, April 26 (Yonhap) — Hyundai Mobis Co., South Korea’s biggest auto parts maker by sales, said Thursday its first-quarter net profit fell 39 percent on the strong won and sluggish demand in China.
Net profit fell to 465.9 billion won (US$431 million) in the January-March quarter from 761.9 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a statement.
The quarterly net result was affected by a plunge in sales of vehicles in China by Hyundai Mobis’ customers, such as Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp,. and the won’s strength against the dollar, a company spokesman said.
The dollar traded at an average of 1,072.3 won in the first quarter from 1,154.3 won a year earlier. A strong won drives down the value of dollar-denominated overseas earnings when converted into the local currency.
Operating profit declined 33 percent to 449.8 billion won in the first quarter from 668.7 billion won a year ago. Sales were down 12 percent to 8.194 trillion won from 9.268 trillion won during the same period, it said.
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