Hyundai’s 2009 first-quarter net-profit drops

Hyundai announced today that its net profit fell 42.7 percent during the first quarter of 2009 due to the global economic slowdown. The Korean automaker said it earned 225 billion won ($166.7 million) in the first-quarter which ended March 31.

Hyundai said that sales were down 26.4 percent to 6.02 trillion won from 8.20 trillion won in 2008. The company sold a total of 621,718 vehicles worldwide, down 13.3 percent.

Nonetheless, Hyundai said that its global market share rose 4.7 percent during the first-quarter – up 4 percent from the year before.

– By: Omar Rana

Source: Detroit News