Hyundai Motor’s Q4 profit massively fell short of estimates as the South Korean automaker recorded a nearly 50% drop in quarterly profit.
Hyundai was hit by rising raw material costs and a one-off expense associated with employees’ bonuses.
Hyundai, one of the world’s top 10 automakers by sales, reported a net profit of 547 billion won ($456.32 million) for October-December, versus 1.1 trillion won a year earlier.
Refinitiv SmartEstimate had forecasted an average of 1.5 trillion won.
Worse yet, analysts warn that rising prices of raw materials, component shortages and supply bottlenecks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic are likely to further drive up costs in the current quarter.
