South Korea’s largest automaker, Hyundai Motor Co. has reported a 38 percent increase in profits in the quarter till December 2011.

The net income for the company rose to 2 trillion won in the quarter compared to 1.45 trillion won in the same period previous year, the company said in a filing to the regulators. Revenue of the Seol based company increased 11 percent to 20.5 trillion won.

The quarter operating of the company rose 72 percent to 2.13 trillion won compared to 2.26 trillion won average estimate compiled by Bloomberg. AS for the whole year, the net income of the company increased 35 percent to 8.1 trillion won and revenue gained 16 percent to 77.8 trillion won.

During the year, Hyundai befitted from the slowdown in production by its rivals in Japan including Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co. According to experts the company will face increasing competition as rivals restore production after previous year’s natural disasters. The company was first among the major automakers to report its quarterly results.

The company expects 2012 vehicle sales to rise 5.7 percent to 4.29 million as its deliveries reached 4.06 million in 2011. Kia Motors, in which Hyundai is the biggest shareholder, is expected to sell 7 million units this year.