Hyundai Motor's net profit drops for 9th consecutive quarter; reports 12% fall

Hyundai Motor reported a 12% fall in net profit for the January to March period, as the South Korean automaker suffered slumping sales in China.

Hyundai Motor, the world's fifth-biggest automaker together with affiliate Kia Motors, posted on Tuesday a net profit of 1.69 trillion won ($1.47 billion) for the first quarter, compared with the 1.46 trillion won average estimate of 14 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

This marks its ninth consecutive quarterly profit drop.