Kia Motors reported Wednesday an on-year decline of 8.5% in its operating profits for 2015, although it posted record-high sales of 40.5 trillion won ($39 billion).

The company sold 2,915,000 cars worldwide last year, however, the soaring marketing fees and fluctuating currency exchange rate dented its profits. 

For 2015, Kia Motors reported an operating profit of 2.34 trillion won. Its net profit fell 12.1 percent to 2.63 trillion won.

According to the company, 1.72 million units of cars were sold domestically -- up 1.1 percent from the previous year -- and 1.32 million units overseas -- down 0.7 percent. The release of popular models such as the K5, Sportage and Carnival have led the success, the carmaker said.

The company expects to sell more cars this year, with the SUVs and minivans retaining their popularity, on top of the much anticipated eco-friendly SUV Niro to be launched in March. Kia set its global sales target at 3.12 million units for 2016, selling 1.63 million units at home and 1.49 million units abroad.

By Bae Ji-sook (baejisook@heraldcorp.com)