Seoul, April 25 Kia, South Korea's second-largest automaker, on Friday reported record sales for the first quarter, backed by robust demand for hybrid and high-margin vehicles, although operating profit dropped due to a base effect.
Kia's sales during the January-March period gained 6.9 percent from a year earlier to 28.01 trillion won (US$19.53 billion) on a consolidated basis, setting an all-time high for a first quarter, the company said in a regulatory filing.
Operating profit totalled 3 trillion won for the quarter, down 12.2 percent on-year, while net profit dropped 14.8 percent to 2.39 trillion won.
Although reporting record first-quarter sales, the earnings fell behind market expectations. The average estimate of net profit by analysts stood at 2.46 trillion won, according to a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency.
In the January-March period, Kia sold a total of 772,648 vehicles globally, up 1.6 percent from the same period a year earlier.
Kia attributed the strong sales performance to a growing demand for hybrid and other eco-friendly models and high-value sport utility vehicles (SUVs), highlighting a particular demand increase in the United States ahead of tariff hikes imposed since earlier this month, as well as robust sales in India and other emerging markets.
The automaker cited a sharp drop in incentives in major markets in the first quarter and a base effect from last year's strong EV9 sales in North America in the operating profit drop.
Kia's domestic sales dropped 2.4 percent to 134,564 units due to the discontinuation of models such as the K3 and the Mohave. Overseas sales climbed 2.5 percent to 638,084 units, driven by solid demand in North America, a successful launch of the Syros in India, and growth in the Middle East and Latin America.
In Europe, sales fell slightly due to buyers awaiting the updated Sportage PE model, set to launch in the second quarter.
Kia said it will continue to strengthen its high-value model lineup and respond flexibly to market shifts amid growing global uncertainty.
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