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SEOUL, July 24 (Yonhap) -- Kia Corp., South Korea's second-largest automaker, said Friday its second-quarter net profit rose 2.6 percent from a year earlier despite U.S. tariffs and geopolitical risks.

Net profit for the three months that ended in June rose to 2.32 trillion won (US$1.6 billion) from 2.26 trillion won a year earlier, the company said in a press release.

Operating profit on the other hand, fell 4.9 percent to 2.62 trillion won in the second quarter from 2.76 trillion won a year earlier. Sales climbed 12.6 percent to 33.03 trillion won from 29.34 trillion won.

"The company launched its vehicles at competitive prices while offering incentives in the domestic and Western European markets to compete with Chinese electric vehicle brands," the company said.

In addition, escalating tensions in the Middle East and the won's weakness against the U.S. dollar weighed on the company's quarterly results, with the weaker won increasing won-denominated provisions for global after-sales services, it said.

From January to June, net profit fell 10.8 percent to 4.15 trillion won from 4.66 trillion won a year earlier.

Operating profit fell 16.3 percent to 4.83 trillion won from 5.77 trillion won during the same period. Sales rose 9 percent to 62.53 trillion won from 57.36 trillion won.

In the first six months, Kia sold a total of 1.63 million vehicles, up from 1.58 million units, driven by increased sales of environmentally friendly vehicles.

To boost sales, Kia said it will expand production of the mid-size Telluride sport utility vehicle (SUV) for the U.S. market in the second half.

It plans to sell the U.S.-built Sportage Hybrid SUV and the Mexico-built EV3 in the American market later this year.

kyongae.choi@yna.co.kr

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