SEOUL, Oct. 18 (Yonhap) — SsangYong Motor Co., the South Korean unit of Indian carmaker Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., said Friday its net losses widened in the third quarter from a year earlier on weak sales.
Net losses for the July-September quarter deepened to 107.9 billion won (US$92 million) from 18.2 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a statement.
“Tougher competition with rivals and lower industrial demand were the main contributors to the widened losses in the third quarter,” the statement said.
Operating losses also expanded to 105.2 billion won from 22 billion won during the same period. Sales fell 7.2 percent to 836.4 billion won from 901.5 billion won, the company said.
In the January-September period, net losses more than tripled to 185.5 billion won from 57.8 billion won. SsangYong sold 101,403 vehicles in the first nine months, down 0.8 percent from 102,246 units a year ago, the company said.
Mahindra & Mahindra owns a 72.9 percent stake in the SUV-focused carmaker.
kyongae.choi@yna.co.kr(END)