SEOUL Reuters -- South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co reported a tripling in fourth quarter profit on strong demand for its high-margin sport-utility vehicles and weak won.
Hyundai Motor had a net profit of 1.7 trillion won $1.4 billion for the October-December period compared to a previous profit of 547 billion won a year ago when the automaker booked some one-off costs.
That was compared with a Refinitiv SmartEstimate for fourth-quarter profit of 2.5 trillion won drawn from 18 analysts.
Like many other automakers, Hyundai benefited from the tight supply of new vehicles last year, which has kept retail prices high.
The high inflation and slowing global economic growth have dampened the outlook for consumer demand this year, prompting several car makers to slash vehicle prices.
Shares in Hyundai Motor went up 4.4% in afternoon trade. That is a 1.2% increase in the benchmark KOSPI.