Carmaker Kia Motors Slovakia, based in Teplička nad Váhom (Žilina Region), produced 292,050 vehicles and 464,467 engines last year, company spokesman Jozef Bačé announced on Thursday, February 28. This represented a 15-percent year-on-year increase in car production and a 29-percent rise in engine production between 2011 and 2012. The firm generated overall revenue of €3.9 billion in 2012.
"We posted a net profit of €155 million, which is twice as much as the previous year. Investments reached around €120 million and were directed towards installation of new equipment, completion of a new logistics centre and extension of the warehouse and distribution centre," Bačé said, as quoted by the TASR newswire. The Kia Sportage model represented half of the vehicles manufactured (over 136,514), the rest were Kia cee'd (120,600) and Kia Venga (almost 35,000) models.
"An absolute majority of our production was exported, the lion's share (22 percent) headed for the Russian Federation. We expect that we'll produce around the same number of cars this calendar year, which is also indicated by the stable development of commissions," said Bačé. "We fully launched our three-shift production last year. We currently employ 3,900 people and we don't expect any big recruitment in the near future," he added.
Source: TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
