South Korea's Hyundai Motor posted a 38 percent rise in profit for the fourth quarter, slightly missing forecasts, as it continued to outperform in overseas markets such as the United States and Europe.
Competitive pricing, helped by the weak South Korean currency, and the features and styling of its models appealed to value-seeking consumers, while Japanese rivals suffered from the strong yen and supply issues caused by Thailand's floods and last year's earthquake.
Hyundai, the first major Asian automaker reporting fourth-quarter earnings, today posted a 2.0 trillion won ($1.8 billion) net profit for October-December, compared with a consensus forecast of 2.26 trillion won from Thomson Reuters.
That is up from 1.45 trillion won in net profit a year earlier and from 1.92 trillion won in the third quarter.
Hyundai said it aimed to raise its 2012 sales by 5.7 percent to 4.29 million vehicles after its 2011 sales beat its target. This would mark a slowdown for the automaker, which has achieved double-digit sales growth in recent years.
Shares of Hyundai Motor, which ranks fifth in global auto sales together with affiliate Kia Motors, dropped 1.9 percent in the wider market was up 0.3 percent as of 0505 GMT on Thursday.
Shares in Hyundai Motor rose 23 percent last year, outperforming the wider market's 11 percent fall.
Hyundai continued to outperform the U.S. market in 2011, with its sales jumping 20 percent to a record high in a market that expanded 10 percent, helped by such models as the Sonata sedan and Elantra compact.
In Europe, Hyundai posted double-digit sales growth last year, bucking the market's slip.
