[Click eStock] "Hyundai Motor Company Posts Strong Results Surpassing Expectations"

Market Share Expansion in the US Expected from Q2

Hyundai Motor Company achieved strong results in the first quarter of this year, surpassing market expectations. This is seen as a reversal of the trend from the previous two quarters, during which the company had fallen short of market forecasts. Analysts note that even without further progress in tariff negotiations with the United States, Hyundai's expansion of market share in the US is now evident.

On April 25, Daol Investment & Securities maintained its target price for Hyundai Motor Company at 3.2 million won and its "Buy" investment rating, citing this background. The previous day's closing price was 1,889,000 won.

In the first quarter of this year, Hyundai Motor Company posted consolidated sales of 44.4077 trillion won and operating profit of 3.6336 trillion won. These figures represent increases of 9.2% and 2.1%, respectively, compared to the same period last year. Operating profit, in particular, exceeded recent market concerns by more than 200 billion won. Analysts attribute this to favorable foreign exchange effects (about 600 billion won) and volume effects (about 16 billion won).

Specifically, the simple average selling price (ASP) of wholesale sales, including the increase in exchange rates, reached a record high of 35.8 million won. This marks an increase of 8.2% year-on-year and 3.6% quarter-on-quarter. Considering that the average incentive cost remained at around $3,000, similar to the first quarter of last year, the weakening of the product mix is cited as the reason for the decline in operating margin during the same period (from 8.7% to 8.2%).

However, it is believed that incentives have already peaked, making a "peak out" effect likely. Even in April, as in the previous month, there are signs that excess demand is spreading. Yoo Woong, a researcher at Daol Investment & Securities, stated, "Hyundai Motor Company includes both electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) in the additional 200,000 units of production at its US plant (HMGMA), which means the company can flexibly respond to new electrification plant volumes scheduled for next year." He added, "With incentive costs starting to decline and even without further progress in tariff negotiations, the scenario of expanding market share in the US is now very clear."