Hyundai Q1 profit triples to highest in 4 years

Hyundai Motor Co, a South Korean automaker, announced on Thursday its net profit skyrocketed 187% to its highest in four years after the demand for its high-margin sports-utility vehicles and premium Genesis cars surged.

However, a threat to hamper the automaker’s growth peak rises as a global shortage of semiconductors looms.

Hyundai is part of the world’s top 10 carmakers by sales as it posted a net profit worth 1.3 trillion won ($1.16 billion) for the January-March period in comparison to 463 billion a year earlier.

Hyundai’s revenue improved 8.2% to 27.4 trillion won.

Hyundai’s luxury cars including SUVs and the Genesis model topped the demand among the firm’s cars in the first quarter.

Shares of Hyundai Motor, Asia’s fifth-biggest automaker by market value, increased 2% on Thursday after the results versus the broader market’s 0.2% gain.