Kia stumbles in third-quarter

Despite a decent product portfolio that includes the Sportage sport utility and entry-level Rio, Kio Motors announced today that its net profits were off 47.9 percent from last year at $71.7 million. The company was hurt this quarter by an operating loss of $20.2 million due to higher costs for raw materials as well as a 12-day strike that resulted in a loss of production. Hyundai, Kia's parent company, was also affected by the worker walkout but managed to post a third-quarter net profit of 27 percent.