[Edaily Marketin KIM YEON-SEO Reporter] NICE Credit Rating announced on the 26th that it has upgraded HYUNDAI CORPORATION’s credit rating to ‘A+’. The rating outlook was changed to ‘Stable’.

NICE Credit Rating assessed that HYUNDAI CORPORATION is steadily increasing its sales and profits based on diversification across product lines and regions, as well as its excellent ability to respond to market conditions.

HYUNDAI CORPORATION’s core business is commodity trading in sectors such as steel, automotive, and petrochemicals. Its business segments are categorized by trading commodities, with its core operations comprising the steel, passenger vehicle, and energy/commercial parts sectors.

Since 2025, the Machinery & Infrastructure division has seen continued improvement in performance as high-profitability projects have expanded. Entering 2026, the Petrochemicals division’s performance also improved due to the impact of surging oil prices. Consequently, consolidated operating profit for the first quarter of this year reached 46.1 billion won, up from 36.9 billion won in the same period last year.

Although the trade environment has become more volatile due to geopolitical instability, HYUNDAI CORPORATION is widely regarded as successfully securing new business opportunities in diverse regions through its overseas network.

Financial burdens are also being managed at a sound level in practical terms. As of the end of the first quarter of this year, total debt stood at 1.0385 trillion won, but trade finance accounted for 826.2 billion won of that amount. Since most of this debt corresponds to accounts receivable or is in the nature of accounts payable, the actual repayment burden is lower than the surface-level indicators suggest.

Song Dong-hwan, a senior researcher at NICE Ratings, stated, “The company possesses excellent business stability backed by the broader Hyundai Group and is securing new business opportunities in diverse regions despite increasing volatility in the business environment.” He added, “While cash flow volatility is high due to working capital requirements, the company is capable of meeting its funding needs, and considering the proportion of trade finance, the actual debt burden is lower than the indicators suggest.”