Hyundai Mobis net swings to positive in Q4

Hyundai Mobis, Korea’s biggest auto parts maker, said Friday it shifted to net profit in the October-December period due to a low base effect. A net profit of 419.8 billion won ($374.1 million) was achieved for the three months that ended in December, from a net loss of 168.6 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a statement. The result was helped by the high level of corporate taxation reflected in the bottom line for the last quarter of 2017, but there were no such one-off outlays in the final three months of last year, a company spokesman said.

Operating profit jumped 82 percent to 581.7 billion won in the fourth quarter from 319.4 billion won a year ago.

Sales rose 9.3 percent to 9.644 trillion won from 8.822 trillion won during the same period.

In the fourth quarter of 2017, operating profit was hit hard by a diplomatic row between Seoul and Beijing over the deployment of an advanced U.S. missile defense system, called Thaad, in Korea.

Operating profit in the last quarter of 2018 rebounded following the easing of bilateral tensions.

Sales climbed on the back of increased exports of high-end auto components and higher parts sales in after-sales markets despite the won’s strength against the dollar and currencies in emerging markets, the statement said.

For the whole of 2018, net profit rose 21 percent to 1.888 trillion won from 1.558 trillion won a year earlier. Operating profit remained unchanged at 2.025 trillion won compared to a year ago. Sales also changed little to 35.149 trillion won versus 35.145 trillion won, it said.