Hyundai returns to profit in Q4 as SUV sales boost margins

South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co swung to a fourth-quarter profit from a loss a year earlier, helped by brisk sales of sport-utility vehicles (SUVs) such as its Tucson and Palisade models.

Net profit for October to December came in at 839bn won (about R10,4bn), missing an average estimate of 998bn (about R12.3bn) profit from 10 analysts, according to Refinitiv I/B/E/S data.

Its operating profit, however, came in at 1.24tn won (about R15,4bn), outperforming analysts' average estimate of 1.06tn won (about R13,1bn).

In the same quarter a year earlier, Hyundai booked a 129.8bn won (about R1,6bn) loss, its first quarterly loss in at least eight years, as sales slumped in China.