Hyundai Motor Reports 7.8% Increase in 2024 Net Income, Targets 4.17 Million Unit Sales

Seoul, Jan 23 (NationPress) Hyundai Motor, the foremost automaker in South Korea, announced on Thursday that its net income for 2024 surged by 7.8 percent compared to the previous year, driven by heightened global demand for eco-friendly vehicles.

The net profit reached 13.22 trillion won ($9.2 billion) on a consolidated basis for the last year, up from 12.27 trillion won in 2023, as per a regulatory announcement.

Meanwhile, operating income experienced a decline of 5.9 percent year-on-year, amounting to 14.23 trillion won. However, annual sales saw an increase of 7.7 percent, achieving a record 175.23 trillion won over the mentioned period, according to reports from Yonhap news agency.

Hyundai Motor has established an annual sales target of 4.17 million units for 2025. The company is also targeting a 3-4 percent year-on-year growth in consolidated sales and an operating profit margin of 7-8 percent this year.

The decline in operating profit is primarily attributed to the depreciation of the South Korean won against the U.S. dollar late last year, which resulted in increased provisions for sales warranties.

Such warranty provisions can negatively impact corporate earnings by decreasing profits and escalating expenses when warranty claims are processed.

In the fourth quarter, net profit was 2.47 trillion won, reflecting a 12.3 percent year-on-year increase. Conversely, operating profit fell by 17.2 percent to 2.82 trillion won, while sales rose by 11.9 percent to 46.62 trillion won.

The automaker reported global sales of 757,191 eco-friendly cars last year, marking an 8.9 percent increase. This figure includes 218,500 electric vehicles (EVs) and 496,780 hybrid EVs.

Total vehicle sales for the year reached 4,141,959 units, with 1,066,239 units sold in the fourth quarter.

In the fourth quarter, domestic sales dropped by 4.6 percent to 189,405 units. Global sales fell 1.6 percent year-on-year to 876,834 units, despite a 4.4 percent rise in North America to 294,383 units.

For the period from October to December, global sales of eco-friendly vehicles totaled 209,641 units, reflecting a 21 percent increase year-on-year, propelled by an expanded hybrid lineup and boosted sales of SUV hybrids in the North American market.

Hyundai Motor anticipates that the current challenging business environment will persist, influenced by factors such as slowing growth in significant markets, the so-called EV chasm, and variations in the pace of industry development.

To tackle these challenges, the company plans to devise and implement systematic response strategies for each internal division to accommodate all potential scenarios.