SEOUL, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's top automaker Hyundai Motor reported a better-than-expected operating profit in the third quarter despite a revenue slump, according to the company on Thursday.
Its operating profit expanded 5.5 percent from a year earlier to 2.68 trillion won (about 2.0 billion U.S. dollars) in the July-September quarter, beating market expectations of about 2.4 trillion won.
It was driven by favorable exchange rates, cost optimization efforts and improved product mix, Hyundai explained.
The third-quarter revenue, however, fell 3.4 percent year on year to 45.11 trillion won.
The downturn was fueled by domestic production disruptions stemming from labor strikes alongside global demand deceleration. ■