Hyundai Motor's Q2 earnings dented by supply disruptions

Hyundai Motor reported a 20.8 percent decline in second-quarter operating profit, Thursday, as production disruptions — caused by a fire from its key supplier's plant — compounded the impact of slowing global vehicle demand.

In a regulatory filing, the carmaker reported an operating profit of 2.85 trillion won ($1.94 billion) between April and June.

Its sales edged up 1.9 percent to 49.2 trillion won during the same period.

The weakening profits reflected softer global automobile demand, but was also affected by production disruptions stemming from a major fire in March at its key auto parts supplier.

The incident disrupted components supply and constrained vehicle output during the quarter.

Despite the earnings decline, Hyundai expressed confidence in achieving a major rebound in the second half, supported by a broad lineup of new vehicle launches across its major markets.

In Korea, the company plans to bolster sales with the facelifted Grandeur sedan, while in North America, it expects redesigned versions of its two cash-cow models, the Elantra compact sedan and Tucson SUV, to driv ...