Hyundai India's profit nosedives 16.5% on weak demand, export disruptions

Hyundai Motor India's profit in the second quarter of this financial year has nosedived significantly. The automaker's first earnings report since its listing in the Indian stock market has revealed that the second biggest carmaker in India after Maruti Suzuki, witnessed a 16.5 per cent profit drop in the last quarter ended in September on weak demand and Red Sea export disruptions. Interestingly, the lower domestic sales not only hurt Hyundai's profit but last month, Maruti Suzuki, which mostly sells small cars, also registered its slowest quarterly revenue growth in nearly three years.

Hyundai which makes some of the most popular cars in India, including SUVs such as Creta and Venue, said its standalone profit slumped to ₹1,338 crore in the second quarter of this fiscal, from ₹1,602 crore recorded a year ago. The South Korean auto manufacturer's overall revenue dropped by 7.5 per cent to ₹16,961 crore in the second quarter of FY25 as sales volumes, including exports, dropped about nine per cent in the same period. SUV sales, which form about 60 per cent of Hyundai India's total sales volumes, dipped 0.5 per cent, Reuters reported.

Hyundai said weak demand in India resulted in a six per cent sales drop in the domestic market, while its exports slumped 17 per cent due to the disruptions caused by the geopolitical tensions around the Red Sea, which severely hurt the global supply chain.

Interestingly, India's passenger vehicle sales from July to September this year, dropped for the first time in 10 quarters, dragged by poor demand for small cars and slowing growth for some SUV manufacturers, including Hyundai and Maruti Suzuki. Hyundai currently owns a 15 per cent market share in the Indian passenger vehicle market, which trails only Maruti Suzuki which owns a 41 per cent stake.

Speaking on the sales outlook, Hyundai India's chief operating officer, Tarun Garg, said that he expects industry-wide sales to grow in the low single digits percentage range in this fiscal year. However, Garg did not give a reason why he expects sales to pick up from a 0.5 per cent rise in April to September.

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