SsangYong Motor’s plant in Pyeongtaek, about 70 kilometers south of Seoul. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, July 27 (Korea Bizwire) — SsangYong Motor Co. on Monday reported a net loss in the second quarter, marking the 14th straight quarter of losses, on the new coronavirus outbreak.
Its net losses narrowed to 8.85 billion won (US$7.4 million) in the April-June quarter from 51.45 billion won in the same period of last year, the company said in a statement.
“The COVID-19 pandemic affected (vehicle) exports and production in the second quarter despite the company’s efforts to implement drastic self-help measures,” it said.
Operating losses deepened to 117.14 billion won in the second quarter from 49.12 billion won a year earlier. Sales fell 24 percent to 707.11 billion won from 935.05 billion won during the same period.
From January to June, net losses widened to 202.39 billion won from 77.57 billion won in the year-ago period.
Operating losses deepened to 215.78 billion won from 76.93 billion won during the mentioned period. Sales declined 27 percent to 1.36 trillion won from 1.87 trillion won.
SsangYong has struggled with declining sales due to a lack of new models and Indian parent Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.’s recent decision not to inject fresh capital into the Korean unit.
From January to June, its sales fell 28 percent to 49,387 vehicles from 68,189 in the year-ago period.
SsangYong’s lineup consists of the flagship G4 Rexton, as well as the Tivoli, Korando and Rexton Sports.
In 2011, Mahindra acquired a 70 percent stake in SsangYong Motor for 523 billion won (US$437.93 million). It currently owns a 74.65 percent stake in the SUV-focused carmaker.
Mahindra is in the process of selling the South Korean unit by picking a lead manager for a potential exit from the loss-making affiliate, according to industry sources.
(Yonhap)
