Hyundai posts first sales drop in 3 years on stronger won

Posts 3% fall in revenue to 21.94 trillion Korean won

South Korea's Hyundai Motor posted its first year-on-year fall in quarterly revenue in nearly three years, as the stronger local currency weighed and imported rivals gained ground in the Korean home market.

Hyundai posted a revenue of 21.94 trillion Korean won in the October to December period, a 3% fall from a year earlier. This marked its first year-on-year sales fall since at least 2011 when new accounting methods were adopted. Its global shipments went up 0.4% to 1.23 million vehicles in the fourth quarter.

However, its net profit jumped 15% to 2.06 trillion won, but missed a consensus forecast of 2.23 trillion. Its profit a year ago was hurt by provisions to cover the cost of compensating customers for overstated fuel-economy claims on some cars sold in the United States and Canada.

The South Korean won gained 3% against the dollar and surged 27% versus the Japanese yen in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, reducing the value of Hyundai Motor's overseas revenue in local currency terms and lifting Japanese rivals' price comeptitiveness in the United States and other key export markets.

In its lucrative home market of South Korea, Hyundai's sales slumped as imported rivals like Volkswagen and Mercedes Benz boosted sales after trade deals.