Kia has reported strong performance in overseas markets, driven by increased sales of eco-friendly vehicles despite an unstable external environment.
On October 30, Kia announced that its revenue for the third quarter reached 31.6 trillion won, with an operating profit of 1.8 trillion won. This marks a 10.1% increase in revenue compared to 28.7 trillion won in the same period last year, and a 24.3% rise in operating profit from 1.5 trillion won.
The revenue growth was attributed to increased sales of hybrid (HEV) and electric vehicles (EV) in advanced markets such as the United States and Europe, which improved the average selling price (ASP). In fact, retail sales of electrified vehicles (xEV) expanded by 47% compared to the previous year.
The operating profit benefited from a base effect of approximately 530 billion won due to the U.S. government's adjustment of the auto tariff rate from 25% to 15%. Additionally, the volume effect from increased sales (442 billion won) and favorable exchange rate effects (529 billion won) contributed to profitability. The exchange rate in the third quarter was 2.8% lower than in the same period last year.
The operating profit margin rose by 0.7 percentage points to 5.8%. The company estimated that the margin would have been around 8% if the impact of U.S. auto tariffs were excluded.
However, external factors such as rising raw material costs (368 billion won) and the prolonged conflict in the Middle East (209 billion won) led to a decrease in operating profit by approximately 570 billion won, corresponding to a 1.9 percentage point drop in the operating profit margin.
A Kia representative stated, "The limited improvement in profitability was significantly influenced by external factors, but our core profit-generating capacity remains robust."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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