China sales lift Hyundai Mobis Q2 profits by 36%

Shanghai, July 29 (Gasgoo.com) Hyundai Mobis Co., Korea's biggest auto-parts maker, said its second-quarter profit was up 36% from a year earlier, helped by the good performance of affiliates in China, which is becoming the world's biggest auto market, Bloomberg reported.

From April to June, net income of Hyundai Mobis totaled 429.5 billion won ($345 million), compared with 316.1 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. Sales dropped 2.7% to 2.53 trillion won on lower demand in the domestic S. Korean market.

Mobis' biggest customers -- Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. -- boosted sales at their Chinese ventures by 83% and 52% respectively in the three months. Hyundai last week reported a record quarterly profit helped by China's stimulus measures including tax breaks on small cars.

Hyundai Motor said its sales in China during the first half of this year surged 56% to 257,000 units, as the Chinese government's sales tax cuts for small vehicles increased its turnover there.

"China was a real boost for Mobis," said Woo Sohn-myung, an analyst at Woori Investment & Securities Co. "New vehicle demand is set to rise in the second half, benefiting Mobis."