SEOUL: South Korea's Hyundai Motor saw net profits nearly triple in the first quarter, it said Thursday, as it recovered from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Hyundai, which with its affiliate Kia is among the world's top 10 automakers, saw net profits leap 175.4 percent year-on-year to 1.52 trillion won ($1.36 billion), it said in a regulatory filing.

Vehicle sales rose more than 10 percent to just over 1,000,000 units -- with revenues up eight percent, it added, as consumer sentiment rebounded.

"Robust sales of SUV models and Genesis luxury models as well as increasing total sales volume helped lift revenue," it said in a press release.

But it warned that the global chip shortage could impact its performance going forward, along with continuing uncertainty from the pandemic.

It would "flexibly adjust" its production keeping an eye on chip inventory, it said.

Hyundai has suspended operations at its Asan assembly line twice this month alone, each lasting two days, due to the shortage of chips, disrupting the production of over 4,000 cars.

Hyundai Motor shares closed up 0.2 percent in Seoul.