Seoul: Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's leading automaker, announced a significant decline in its fourth-quarter net profit, which tumbled 52.1 percent compared to the previous year. This decrease comes amidst the impact of U.S. import tariffs, which have posed challenges to the company's profitability.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Hyundai's net profit for the three months ending in December fell to 1.18 trillion won (US$830.3 million), a stark drop from 3.11 trillion won recorded in the same period of 2024. This outcome was considerably below market expectations, as analysts had projected an average net profit of 2.35 trillion won, based on a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data arm of Yonhap News Agency.

The company's operating profit also saw a decline, falling 39.9 percent to 1.69 trillion won in the fourth quarter, down from 2.82 trillion won a year earlier. Despite these decreases, sales experienced a slight increase of 0.5 percent, rising to 46.83 trillion won from 46.62 trillion won.

For the entire year of 2025, Hyundai reported a 21.7 percent decrease in net profit, amounting to 10.36 trillion won, down from 13.2 trillion won the previous year. Operating profit similarly declined by 19.5 percent, reaching 11.46 trillion won from 14.23 trillion won, while sales increased by 6.3 percent to 186.25 trillion won from 107.49 trillion won.

The financial performance comes in the wake of a trade agreement made last year, where Washington agreed to reduce tariffs on auto imports from South Korea to 15 percent from 25 percent. This concession was in exchange for Seoul's commitment to invest $350 billion in the United States. However, recent developments have complicated the situation. U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans to reinstate the auto duties on South Korean vehicles back to 25 percent, attributing the decision to delays in Seoul's legislative actions necessary to enforce the trade deal.