Q1 2025 Earnings Conference Call on April 25
Record Revenue Driven by Improved Sales Mix and Exchange Rates
Operating Profit Down Year-on-Year Due to Higher Incentives
Kia achieved its highest-ever quarterly sales in the first quarter of this year. This was driven by an increase in the proportion of eco-friendly vehicles, which have a higher average selling price, as well as increased exports to the US market in response to tariffs.
On April 25, Kia announced during its 2025 first quarter earnings conference call that its revenue for the first quarter reached 28.0175 trillion won, up 7% compared to the same period last year. During the same period, operating profit was 3.0086 trillion won, down 12.2%, and net profit also fell by 14.8% to 2.3926 trillion won.
Kia's global sales in the first quarter reached 772,648 units (based on wholesale), up 1.6% from the previous year. In Korea, sales declined by 2.4% to 134,564 units, while overseas sales increased by 2.5% to 638,084 units.
Kia attributed the increase in revenue to a rise in average selling price (ASP) due to a higher proportion of high value-added vehicles such as eco-friendly cars and recreational vehicles (RVs), as well as favorable exchange rate effects. On the other hand, operating profit declined by about 12%. The company explained that this was due to the base effect of very low incentives in the first quarter of last year.
The operating margin was recorded at 10.7%. This is more than twice the average expected operating margin of major global automakers for the first quarter.
In the first quarter of this year, sales of eco-friendly vehicles increased by 10.7% year-on-year to 174,000 units, driven by expanded demand for hybrids. By vehicle type, hybrid sales rose by 10.6%, and electric vehicle sales increased by 27.0%.
Regarding its business outlook for this year, Kia predicted that difficult conditions would continue due to several factors: the possibility of a real economy slowdown caused by uncertainties in the global trade environment such as tariffs, the expansion of geopolitical risks, and a weakening of consumer sentiment.
A Kia representative stated, "To overcome this year's business uncertainties, we plan to maintain appropriate inventory levels through flexible production operations based on demand, while also implementing an optimal incentive strategy to continue business operations focused on profitability and customer value."
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