SOUTH Korea's Hyundai Motor said yesterday that its second-quarter net profit declined despite a gain in sales, and vowed to fight high oil prices by aggressively exporting more fuel efficient vehicles.

Hyundai Motor Co earned 546.93 billion won (US$540.5 million) in the three months to June 30, the company said in a regulatory filing. That was 10.6 percent lower than the same period last year.

Sales during the quarter rose 12.8 percent to 9.12 trillion won from 8.08 trillion won, it said.

Spokeswoman Song Mee-young said the profit decline for the quarter resulted from losses at Hyundai units in Japan and India and currency losses related to US dollar and euro-denominated derivatives.

Hyundai said that net profit for the first half of 2008 rose 2.2 percent to 939.6 billion won compared with the same period last year, while sales increased 17 percent to 17.3 trillion won.

Hyundai said it sold nearly 1.5 million vehicles during the first half, a 15-percent gain from a year earlier on the back of strong performance by top-end sedans such as the Genesis and the redesigned Sonata.

Hyundai's US sales, however, fell 2.3 percent to 231,066 vehicles in the first half, said spokesman Ki Jin-ho. Second-quarter sales in the US rose 2.5 percent to 135,728.

Hyundai Motor is South Korea's biggest car maker. Combined with affiliate Kia Motors Corp, it forms the world's fifth-largest automotive group, said Ki, citing Automotive News.

Hyundai said higher prices for oil and raw materials were likely to continue in the second half.