Kia reports record-high $2.6 billion operating profit in Q2

Industry

Published: 26 Jul. 2024, 18:27 Updated: 26 Jul. 2024, 20:05

Kia reports record-high $2.6 billion operating profit in Q2

Kia headquarters in southern Seoul [NEWS1]

Kia on Friday reported a record-high second quarter operating profit of 3.64 trillion won ($2.6 billion), up 7.1 percent from a year earlier.

Net profit for the April-June period was 2.95 trillion won, up 5 percent from a year ago, the company said in a regulatory filing. Sales rose 5 percent to 27.56 trillion won.

The automaker sold 795,183 vehicles globally during the three months, down 1.6 percent from a year ago.

“Kia’s sales decreased by a small margin compared to last year, as the company’s transition of its existing factories to EV factories in Korea and overseas created a production gap,” the company said Friday, adding that the lack of available inventory and a discontinuation in its lineup contributed to the decrease.

Kia’s sales of vehicles with higher margins and increased U.S. sales also helped increase the company's profit.

The carmaker also sold 8.3 percent more environmentally friendly vehicles, totaling 162,000 hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles sold in the second quarter of this year.

Kia recently unveiled EV3, the company’s compact SUV electric vehicle.

The company's earnings failed to meet market expectations. The average estimate of net profit by analysts stood at 2.99 trillion won, according to a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency.

BY CHO YONG-JUN, YONHAP [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]