Small cars have been gaining a lot of popularity despite the economic recession, giving Hyundai Motor Co. a record quarterly operating profit. With the dilemma that Toyota Motor Corp. is in due to the safety recalls, analysts predict that Hyundai will be able to keep its edge.
Hyundai, which makes the Sonata sedan, posted an October-December operating profit of 837.2 billion won ($728.4 million), up 44% from a year earlier and 29% above a consensus forecast on Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Beating analysts’ forecasts, Hyundai had its fourth-quarter net profit nearly quadrupled to 945.5 billion won ($822.7 million).
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