Kia Motors says 2Q net profit rises 61 percent

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - Kia Motors announced Friday that net profit rose 61 percent in the second quarter amid an increase in sales.

Kia, which has a plant in West Point, Ga., earned 557.8 billion won ($471 million) in the three months ended June 30, the company said in a regulatory filing. It had net profit of 347.1 billion won the year before.

It said sales in the second quarter totaled 5.77 trillion won. That was 23 percent higher than the 4.68 trillion won reported a year earlier.

Kia Motors Corp. is an affiliate of Hyundai Motor Co. Together they form the world's fifth-largest automotive group.