South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co. said Thursday its fourth-quarter net profit rose 29 percent from a year earlier on robust sales of high-end vehicles. Net profit for the three months ended on Dec. 31 rose to 2.2 trillion won (US$1.6 billion) from 1.709 trillion won during the same period of 2022, the company said in a statement. "The bottom line got a boost from increased sales of value-added models in major markets such as the United States and Europe as well as improved product mix and productivity despite growing concerns over an economic slowdown," the statement said. Operating profit climbed 0.2 percent to 3.4 trillion won in the December quarter from 3.4 trillion won a year ago. Sales were up 8.3 percent to 41.6 trillion won from 38.4 trillion won during the cited period. For the whole of 2023, net income jumped 54 percent to 12.2 trillion won from the previous year's 7.9 trillion won. Operating profit also surged 54 percent to 15.1 trillion won last year from 9.824 trillion won a year ago. Sales r ose 14 percent to 162.6 trillion won from 142.15 trillion won. In 2024, Hyundai is targeting to achieve annual sales growth of 4 to 5 percent and aims to sell 4.24 million vehicles, up from 4.21 million units sold last year, by focusing on SUVs and high-end models. And the maker of Santa Fe SUVs and Sonata sedans has budgeted 12.4 trillion won in capital expenditure this year for research and development (R and D) and facility investments. Source: Yonhap News Agency