Hyundai Motor, the nation’s biggest carmaker, posted an operating profit of 5.19 trillion won ($4.45 billion) last year, the lowest since 2010 when the carmaker started to comply with international financial reporting standards.

The carmaker, in a regulatory filing Wednesday, also posted a net profit of 5.76 trillion won, a 12.1 percent decrease from 6.51 trillion won in the previous year.

For the entire year, Hyundai’s sales grew 1.8 percent on-year to 93.65 trillion won, selling a total of 4.85 million vehicles.

Hyundai’s earnings in the fourth quarter of last year further dragged down figures for the entire year, defying market expectations that the carmaker would see a turnaround due to the cheap Korean won and the simmering down of labor confrontations.

Between October and December, the carmaker posted a net profit of 1.07 trillion won, down 30.1 percent from the same three months in 2015. Operating profit plunged 32.6 percent on-year to 1.02 trillion won, while sales dropped 0.9 percent to 25.54 trillion won.

The company’s slowing profitability appears to have been affected by a rise in costs due to a massive production disruption in the third quarter, an official was quoted by Yonhap News Agency as saying.

The carmaker said it will seek a growth in sales by launching a number of new cars.

With sport utility vehicles and green cars, Hyundai will seek to expand its presence in the global market, the company said in a statement.

This year, Hyundai plans to sell 5.08 million cars globally, with 683,000 vehicles to be sold in the local market.

By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)