Seoul:  South Korea’s top automaker Hyundai Motor on Tuesday said its first-half operating profit declined seven percent at 3.1 trillion won ($2.73 billion) due to soft demand from emerging economies.

Revenue increased 7.5 percent from a year earlier to 47.03 trillion won during the January-June period, but net income also declined 6.4 percent to 3.53 trillion won, Xinhua news agency reported.

The operating margin stood at 6.6 percent in the first half, down one percentage point from a year ago.

The first-half slump was mainly attributable to weaker demand in emerging markets, but the automaker expects a gradual improvement in the second half, a Hyundai Motor official said.

Hyundai’s global auto sales fell 0.9 percent from a year earlier for the first six months of this year. Car sales in the local market increased 4.4 percent, but overseas sales reduced 1.8 per cent.