Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's biggest carmaker, said Thursday its second-quarter net profit nearly quadrupled compared with a year earlier on strong demand for its vehicles that offset output disruptions by chip shortages.

Net profit for the April-June quarter jumped to 1.52 trillion won ($1.3 billion) from 377.27 billion won in the same period last year, the company said in a statement.

"Robust sales of high-end vehicles in the domestic and US markets helped offset sales decline in other markets amid the extended COVID-19 pandemic," the statement said.

A combination of its improved product mix, lower incentives and higher average selling prices, particularly in the US market, helped reduce the impact of chip shortages and boost profits in the June quarter, it said.

Operating profit nearly tripled to 1.66 trillion won in the second quarter from 590.32 billion won a year ago. Sales rose 39 percent to 30.33 trillion won from 21.86 trillion won during the same period.

From January to June, net income jumped to 3.5 trillion won from 929.95 billion won in the year-ago period. (Yonhap)