Chip shortage to persist in 2nd half
Hyundai Motor saw its operating income triple in the second quarter this year compared to the same time period in 2020.
The South Korean automobile giant said on Thursday that it recorded 30.32 trillion won in sales and 1.88 trillion won in operating income during the quarter.
Sales increased 38.7% from a year ago while operating income surged 219.5% over the same time period.
Hyundai Motor also recorded 1.98 trillion won in net income during the quarter, an increase of 425.5% year-on-year.
The company credited the increase to the low earnings caused by the COVID-19 pandemic last year and a recovery in global sales.
Operating income also increased thanks to its focus on profitable sales and increase in unit shipment despite the global chip shortage and unfavorable exchange rate, Hyundai Motor said.
Global demand for automobiles are expected to continue to recover going forward, the company added.
However, a full normalization from the effects of the chip shortage will take a long time, Hyundai Motor also warned.
While there will be some recovery starting in the third quarter, for some of the chips the recovery will start gradually in the fourth quarter, the company said.
Growth in the second half of the year will slowdown, Hyundai Motor also said. Demand recovery will be offset by the chip shortage and increase in raw material prices, it added.
Meanwhile, the automobile giant sold 1.03 million units of vehicles during the second quarter, an increase of 46.5% from a year ago.
Out of that total, 830,667 units were sold abroad, an increase of 73.6% from the same time period a year ago.
For the entire first half of the year, the South Korean company sold 2.03 million units.
