Ssangyong Motor Co., a local unit of Indian carmaker Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., said Wednesday that it swung to the black last year, posting a net profit for the first time in nine years.

Net profit came to 58.1 billion won (US$50.9 million) in 2016, compared with a net loss of 61.9 billion in the year before, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Ssangyong Motor attributed the turnaround to a sharp increase in sales.

The company earlier said its global sales reached a 14-year high of 155,844 cars last year.

Sales, in terms of value, came to some 3.63 trillion won, gaining 7 percent from a year earlier and reaching an all-time high, it said in a press release.

The Ssangyong Tivoli SUV (Photo courtesy of Ssangyong Motor)

Operating profit came to 28 billion won, also marking a turnaround from a loss of 35.8 billion won in 2015.

"The company posted its first net profit in nine years last year as it successfully recovered its market share following the launch of the Tivoli SUV," company chief Choi Jong-sik was quoted as saying.

"It will continue to make profit this year while again boosting its sales to a record high by expanding its vehicle lineup with a successful launch of the Y400 luxury SUV," he added. (Yonhap)

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