(Hyundai Mobis Co.)
Hyundai Mobis Co., South Korea's biggest auto parts maker, said Friday its first-quarter net profit fell 14 percent from a year earlier due to a chip shortage and high manufacturing costs.
Net profit for the three months ended in March fell to 520.98 billion won ($419 million) from 603.33 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a statement.
"The quarterly net income fell as lack of semiconductors parts drove down vehicle production, higher raw materials prices pushed up automotive steel prices and there were increased air-freight charges to deliver auto parts to (Hyundai Mobis') overseas plants," a company spokesman said.
The company expects such negative factors will continue to affect the second quarter, with the Russia-Ukraine war showing no signs of de-escalation.
Operating profit declined 21 percent to 386.87 billion won in the first quarter from 490.35 billion won a year ago. Sales rose 15 percent to 11.308 trillion won from 9.815 trillion won.
Hyundai Mobis is a core affiliate of Hyundai Motor Group, which also has Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. under its wing.
In the March quarter, the company obtained $1.66 billion worth of parts orders from global carmakers, except for its captive buyers Hyundai Motor and Kia, achieving 44 percent of its order target of $3.7 billion for this year.
Hyundai Mobis earns about 90 percent of its sales from Hyundai Motor and Kia, with 10 percent coming from other carmakers. (Yonhap)