SEOUL, July 23 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's biggest carmaker Hyundai Motor reported a double-digit fall in its second-quarter operating profit, hit by U.S. tariffs and temporary supply chain disruptions, the company said Thursday.
The company's operating profit dropped 20.8 percent from a year earlier to 2.85 trillion won (1.9 billion U.S. dollars) in the April-June quarter.
A major fire at a key local parts supplier caused severe component shortages amid higher raw material costs, while the U.S. tariffs on automobiles and parts increased marketing expenses and warranty provisions, weighing heavily on profitability.
Hyundai's revenue gained 1.9 percent over the year to reach a record high of 49.22 trillion won (33.5 billion dollars) in the second quarter, but its net income retreated 11.2 percent to 2.89 trillion won (2.0 billion dollars).
The record revenue was driven by strong hybrid vehicle sales and favorable foreign exchange rates.
The average South Korean won versus U.S. dollar exchange rate went up 7.0 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier.
The automaker's global wholesale vehicle sales posted 991,885 units in the second quarter, down 6.9 percent from a year ago.
Its domestic automotive sales dipped 16.4 percent to 157,647 units, while its sales outside South Korea slipped 4.9 percent to 834,238 units.
Hyundai's global sales of electrified vehicles, including hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV), fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) and electric vehicle (EV), rose 1.7 percent to 266,627 units in the cited quarter.
HEV sales led its global electrified model growth, achieving record-high quarterly performance of 187,661 units and capturing 18.9 percent of its total global car sales. ■