Strong fourth quarter for auto parts company

Hyundai Mobis’s net profit in the fourth quarter last year surged almost 39 percent thanks to increased sales of electric auto parts and robust exports, the company announced Thursday.

Between October and December last year, the auto parts-making affiliate of Hyundai Motor Group’s net profit reached 582.1 billion won ($490 million), up 38.7 percent from 419.8 billion won one year earlier. The company’s operating profit rose 9.1 percent on year to 634.4 billion won, with sales revenue increasing 7.9 percent to 10.4 trillion won.

Hyundai Mobis’s electric car component sales rose 2.8 trillion won for the whole of 2019, up from 1.8 trillion won posted in 2018. The division’s sales reached the 1 trillion won mark for the first time just a year earlier.

At the same time, the company’s 2019 earnings from completing core auto parts orders from global automakers rose 5.9 percent on year to $1.76 billion, with those from the North American market taking up $1.04 billion.

Hyundai Mobis earns around 90 percent of its total auto parts sales from supplying components to Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors.

Hyundai Mobis’s operating profit for 2019 climbed 16.5 percent from a year earlier, to 2.36 trillion won. Its aggregate sales added 8.2 percent to 38.5 trillion won, and net profit jumped 21.5 percent to 2.29 trillion won.

Hyundai Mobis added that its earnings also received a boost after its auto parts manufacturing plant in Ohio resumed operations late in the first quarter. The plant had sat idle for a full year for assembly line maintenance.

This year, Hyundai Mobis said it hopes to reach $2.73 billion in exports by targeting more global premium auto brands, especially those in Europe. The auto parts maker added that it expects to sell more electric car components by supplying parts to the Czech Republic and Slovakia, which are core production points for the European market.

BY KO JUN-TAE [ko.juntae@joongang.co.kr]