Seoul, Nov 11: Hyundai Motor , South Korea 's top auto maker, reported a surprise 1.7 per cent rise in quarterly profits on Tuesday, helped by a reduced tax burden and smaller losses at the firm's financial units. But tumbling operating profits underscored a difficult third-quarter at Hyundai, which suffered poor domestic sales, a month-long strike and a rising won currency in the period.
Analysts said Hyundai, 10 per cent-owned by US-German auto maker DaimlerChrysler AG, looks set for a better performance in the final quarter as it cranks up production to fill inventories depleted during the industrial action.

"In October alone, Hyundai's factory utilisation rate topped 100 per cent, a really good sign for earnings at a capital-intensive car maker," said Kim Hag-ju, a Samsung Securities analyst. Many factories can work at more than 100 per cent of their stated capacity if necessary.
Hyundai posted a net profit of 301.7 billion won ($256 million) for the third quarter, compared with a profit of 296.2 billion won a year ago. Sales fell 19 per cent to 5.05 trillion won. Bureau Report