Hyundai's profits dropped 5.5% in Q4 - Automobile News

With the won appreciating nearly five percent against the dollar in the final three months of 2012, Hyundai's quarterly income totaled 1.89 trillion won ($1.8 billion), a decline from $2 trillion won during the same period in 2011.

Should the value of the won continue to climb, it could pose significant problems for Hyundai, especially as the weakening yen gives Japanese competitors the opportunity to pursue lower pricing strategies.

"The magnitude of the won's appreciation will probably intensify toward the second half of this year," Hyundai Chief Financial Officer Lee Won Hee said. "The weak yen will allow Japanese automakers to aggressively market products, especially in places where we are intensely competing against them, such as Australia and Russia."

Also hurting Hyundai's balance sheet is the $255 million it announced today that it will commit to reimbursing buyers affected by its overstated mileage claims. Last November, Hyundai and Kia acknowledged that a testing error had led to inflated mileage ratings for about 900,000 vehicles, and the company subsequently pledged to reimburse owners for the difference between the claimed and actual fuel economy. /* @Himanshu 09-01-2013 New code to work with br tag, p tag and /n */ div.post-content1{ color: #000000; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.333em; margin-bottom: 16px; margin-top: 10px; } /* @Himanshu 09-01-2013 New code to work with br tag, p tag and /n */ div.post-content1 ul li { list-style:disc !important; margin-left:20px; color:#000000; } div.post-content1 ol li { list-style-type: decimal !important; margin-left:20px; color:#000000; } #editorial_graph ul li { list-style:none !important; margin-left:0px; }

Source: Leftlanenews