Hyundai Motor Co, South Korea's largest automaker, saw a 28-per-cent jump in its first-quarter net profit, thanks to a weak won and high demand for its midsized and luxury cars.
Net profit from January to March totalled 392.7 billion won (396.6 million dollars), compared with 307.4 billion won in the same period last year, the company said.
The results did not meet analysts' expectations, however, as Hyundai took a 138-billion-won loss on foreign currency derivatives after betting the wrong way on the euro, reported the dpa.
Operating profits, which are a company's earnings minus interest payments and taxes and which are seen as a measure of its earnings power from ongoing operations, jumped 61 per cent to 529.1 billion won.
Its sales rose 22 per cent to 8.2 trillion won.
Hyundai attributed its increased sales to an improved product mix and said cost-cutting efforts also had a positive effect on its earnings.
The carmaker saw its unit sales increase 14.3 per cent to 442,971, nearly two-thirds of which (284,744) were sold overseas.
Together with its subsidiary Kia Motors, Hyundai has a goal to move up from the world's sixth-largest automaker to its fifth.
To do so, it plans to introduce a series of new models and increase its competitive edge by opening new factories in China and India. On April 8, it opened its second production facility in China, where it is forecasting a sales increase of 65 per cent this year.