Kia Q1 net profit drops 23.5% on US tariffs, weak currency

Kia Corp., Korea's second-largest automaker, said Friday its first-quarter net profit dropped 23.5 percent from a year earlier due to the impact of U.S. import tariffs and the weakening Korean won. Net profit for the three months that ended in March declined to 1.83 trillion won ($1.2 billion) from 2.39 trillion won in the same period of 2025, the company said in a regulatory filing. Operating income plunged 26.7 percent on-year to 2.2 trillion won, while sales increased 5.3 percent to a record 29.5 trillion won. The earnings fell short of market expectations. The average estimate of net profit by analysts stood at 1.91 trillion won, according to a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency. Kia said the full impact of U.S. tariffs on imported vehicles was reflected in its first-quarter results. According to Kia's calculations, the cost of the tariffs amounted to 755 billion won. The weakening Korean won also contributed to the weaker-than-expected first-quarter earnings, the company added. Over the three-month period, Kia sold 779,000 units of vehicles worldwi