Kia Motors Reports $73 Million Net Profit for Q1

South Korea's second-largest car maker, Kia Motors, said Friday it remained in the black for two consecutive quarters, thanks to a weaker won and the popularity of its new models. In this year's first quarter to March, it reported net profit of 97.4 billion won (US$73 million), a reverse from a 24.8 billion won deficit a year earlier. Sales, however, fell 5.8% year-on-year to 3.5 trillion won. It sold 79,000 vehicles in South Korea, up 6.4% from a year earlier, but exports fell 20.6% to 141,000 units amid a global economic slump. Operating profit for the three months to March dropped 13% from a year earlier to 88.9 billion won, it said. Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2009