Kia profits down by more than a third

Kia Motors said today that its first quarter net profits tumbled 35% from a year earlier due to a fall in vehicle production at domestic plants and lower exports.

South Korea's second-largest car-maker said profits fell to 783.9 billion won (€538.4m) for the January-March period from 1.2 trillion won a year earlier.

Sales fell 6% to 11.1 trillion won and operating profit dropped 35% to 704.2 billion won.

Kia blamed lower production on its union's refusal to work extra shifts amid a dispute over compensation.

Output at Kia's South Korean plants fell 8%, resulting in lost production of about 32,000 vehicles compared with a year earlier.

Kia is a unit of Hyundai Motor Group, the world's fifth-largest car-maker.