Kia Motors posts record profit in 2011 on brisk overseas sales

Kia Motors said yesterday that it posted a record profit in 2011 thanks mainly to brisk sales in overseas markets.

Net profit reached 3.5 trillion won ($3.1 billion) last year, up 30.4 percent from a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Sales jumped 20.6 percent on-year to 43.2 trillion won in 2011, and operating profit also shot up 41.6 percent to 3.5 trillion won.

Kia Motors said the record-breaking performance is attributable to robust sales of its vehicles based on an improved brand image.

Its global sales jumped 19.2 percent from a year earlier to 2,538,020 units in 2011, said Kia Motors. It sold some 485,000 vehicles in the United States, up 36.3 percent from a year earlier, while sales in China, now the world’s biggest market for automobiles, jumped 29.9 percent to 433,000 cars.

Kia Motors’ domestic sales rose a mere 1.7 percent to 492,000 vehicles due to sluggish demand, it added.