Seoul -
South Korea's Kia Motors said on Friday its third-quarter net profit rose 8.9 percent from a year ago on strong sales in China and Eastern Europe.
Net profit for the July-September period came to 903.3 billion won ($849.5 million), up from 829.5 billion won in the same period last year, the country's second-largest car maker by volume said.
However, operating profit, weighed by the strong won, labour strikes and work stoppages, fell 13.1 percent on-year to 696.3 billion won.
“Despite relatively strong sales overseas, domestic sales weren't good due to low plant operations caused by labour strikes,” the company said.
Revenue inched up a mere 0.1 percent from a year earlier to 11.63 trillion won.
Partial strikes in August and September cost the company 413.5 billion won in lost production, Kia said last month.
The won was 3.4 percent higher than a year earlier at the end of the third quarter. The stronger currency makes exports more expensive for overseas buyers and diminishes overseas earnings when they are repatriated.
Kia Motors said the global auto market was expected to stagnate in the fourth quarter, citing uncertainty over the US economy and a slowdown in China.
The company said it would bolster marketing efforts, launch a series of new cars and increase plant operation rates.
South Korea's top auto maker Hyundai Motor owns 34 percent of Kia and together they form the world's fifth-biggest car maker by sales. - Sapa-AFP