South Korea's top automaker Hyundai Motor saw its operating profit fall in the fourth quarter, despite record quarterly car sales, as stronger won and provisioning for overstated gas mileage in the United States worsened profitability.

Consolidated operating profit, which includes profit from affiliates, declined 11.7 percent from a year earlier to 1.83 trillion won (1.71 billion U.S. dollars) in the three months ended Dec. 31, the company said in an e-mailed statement on Thursday. The reading was down 7.3 percent from three months before.

Revenue increased 10.7 percent to 22.72 trillion won in the fourth quarter on brisk auto sales that reached a fresh quarterly record of 1,226,847 vehicles globally. Net income declined 5.5 percent to 1.89 trillion won as the won's ascent against the U.S. dollar and the Japanese yen aggravated profitability in addition to provisions for the fuel economy scandal in the U.S..

"Profitability deteriorated due to about 350 billion won provisioning for overstated gas mileage in the U.S. and the won's appreciation against the dollar," Eric Choi, an analyst at Shinhan Investment Corp. in Seoul, said in a report before the release. Endi

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