Hyundai Motor reports 2% rise in Q1 operating profit

SEOUL, April 24 (Reuters) - Hyundai Motor 005380.KS reported a 2% rise in first-quarter operating profit on Thursday, meeting analysts' estimates, as customers accelerated purchases ahead of U.S. tariffs and as it also benefited from a weak South Korean won.

Hyundai, which together with affiliate Kia 000270.KS is the world's third-biggest automaking group by sales, booked operating profit of 3.6 trillion won ($2.52 billion) for January to March, compared with 3.56 trillion won in the same period a year earlier.

The result compared with a 3.5 trillion won LSEG SmartEstimate drawn from 17 analysts. The consensus estimate gives more weight to analysts who are more consistently accurate.

($1 = 1,429.6600 won)