Hyundai Motor is considering raising its dividend sharply and introducing an interim dividend, its president Lee Won-hee said Thursday, in an apparent bid to appease investors angered by its recent $10 billion deal to buy a Seoul property.

Lee, who is also chief financial officer, was speaking after the automaker reported its third-quarter earnings. He did not further elaborate.

Last month, a consortium led by Hyundai Motor bid $10 billion for a plot of land in Seoul’s high-end Gangnam district to house its headquarters, more than triple the appraisal value of the property. Its shares have been falling since then.

The South Korean automaker declared a 1,950 won ($1.85) per share year-end dividend for 2013, or a total handout of 534.4 billion won.

On Thursday, Hyundai Motor said its net earnings for the third quarter plunged 28.3 percent on-year to 1.61 trillion won, mainly due to unfavorable exchange rates that offset gains in sales.

Operating profit also dropped 18 percent to a little under 1.65 trillion won in the same period, but sales gained 2.2 percent to 21.28 trillion won, the company said in a regulatory filing. 

(From news reports)