SEOUL, South Korea -- Hyundai Motor's net profit nearly quadrupled in the fourth quarter on higher sales following a strong performance during 2009 in the fast-growing Chinese and Indian auto markets.
South Korea's largest automaker and a growing force in the global market, earned 945.5 billion won ($820 million) in the three months ended Dec. 31, it said in a statement Thursday. Hyundai Motor Co. reported net profit of 243.5 billion won the same period the year before.
The Ulsan, South Korea-based maker of the Elantra and Sonata sedans and the luxury Genesis said sales during the quarter rose 9.3 percent to 9.65 trillion won from 8.83 trillion won a year earlier.
For all of 2009, Hyundai recorded a net profit of 2.96 trillion won, more than doubling from 1.45 trillion won in 2008. Sales for the year, however, fell 1 percent to 31.9 trillion won from 32.2 trillion.
Hyundai reported big gains in sales volume in China and India in 2009 from the year before. It also said that profits in China soared while in India it made money after a loss the year before.
Hyundai, which along with affiliate Kia Motors Corp. forms one of the world's five biggest automotive groups, has seen its market share grow worldwide in recent years through an emphasis on quality and design.
Both companies have expanded aggressively overseas. Hyundai has factories in China, India, Turkey, the U.S. and the Czech Republic. Kia has plants in China and Slovakia and began production in the United States last year.
Shares in Hyundai Motor, which released results during afternoon trading, rose 4.1 percent to close at 113,500 won. The stock price tripled in 2009.
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