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 Shares of the Korean automaker - the world's fifth-biggest when
paired with sister Kia Motors Corp - ended at a more than two-week
low after the announcement. Earlier in the day, Hyundai missed
analyst estimates by posting a 19 percent decline in
October-December net profit.
Hyundai-Kia splashed out on land for new headquarters last year as
economic turmoil in Russia undermined earnings in a country where
the pair rank second. Meanwhile in the U.S., the pair's No.2 market,
a weak yen made rival Japanese cars cheaper.
Currency risks are likely to persist in Russia as well as in other
emerging markets this year, Hyundai President Lee Won-hee said after
the automaker released its earnings.
In the U.S., where a weak yen lets Japanese makers offer aggressive
discounts, Hyundai's average sales incentive will stay at the 2014
level even with sales of new models such as the Sonata sedan and the
Tucson sport utility vehicle, Lee said.
LOW EXPECTATIONS
Hyundai raised its year-end dividend for 2014 by over 50 percent to
3,000 won per share, and said it would continuously increase payouts
in coming years.
Earlier, Hyundai reported fourth-quarter net profit of 1.66 trillion
won ($1.53 billion), compared with the 1.98 trillion won average
estimate of 14 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
"Market expectation has been lowered a lot. It's unlikely to get
worse this year," said senior auto analyst Suh Sung-moon of Korea
Investment & Securities. "Whether the Tucson is successful or not is
key to reviving profitability this year."
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Hyundai aims to lift sales by 1.8 percent this year to 5.05 million
vehicles but should exceed that target, Lee said. In the fourth
quarter, strong sales and a weaker won helped push up revenue by 8
percent to 23.57 trillion won, the automaker said.
"We expect competition to intensify in overseas markets, while
makers of imported cars step up sales, boosted by tariff cuts and
currency effects in the domestic market," Hyundai said in a
statement.
As of Wednesday's close, Hyundai shares were down 25 percent over
the past year, during which the property buy triggered a selloff,
Thomson Reuters data showed.
That makes Hyundai stock the worst performer among major automakers
as well as the cheapest. Its 12-month forward price-to-earnings
ratio is 5.5 compared with 8.3 for Toyota Motor Corp and 9.3 for
Ford Motor Co, according to Thomson Reuters data.
($1 = 1,085.8000 won)
(Additional reporting by Kahyun Yang; Editing by Christopher
Cushing)
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