Kia Motors says strong won hit its bottom line in Q2

Kia Motors said Friday that its second-quarter net profit fell 15 percent from a year earlier on a strong won and increased incentives to cut inventories.

Net profit for the three months that ended on June 30 fell to 331.8 billion won from 389.6 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a statement.

“The won rose sharply against the dollar. And the company spent more incentives in the U.S. market to reduce local inventories [of sedans],” the statement said.

The dollar fell to an average of 1,078.57 won in the second quarter from 1,129.43 won a year earlier, according to the Bank of Korea.

Operating profit declined 13 percent to 352.6 billion won in the June quarter from 404 billion won a year ago. Sales rose 3.5 percent to 14.06 trillion won from 13.58 trillion won during the same period.