Hyundai Heavy Q1 profit jumps 21% amid rising orders

Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world 's biggest shipbuilder, said Friday its first-quarter net profit jumped 21 percent from a year earlier due to strong demand for new ships.


Net profit reached 903 billion won (841 million U.S. dollars) in the first quarter, up 21.16 percent from a year earlier, the South Korean company said in a statement.


Sales grew 16.92 percent on-year to 6.3 trillion won in the first three months of this year, with operating profit gaining 10.99 percent to 991.8 billion won.


Hyundai Heavy attributed positive results to increased orders for new vessels and strong sales in engine & machinery division and construction equipment business.


The shipbuilder's first-quarter new orders stood at 9.72 billion dollars, more than a third of annual orders target valued at 26.6 billion dollars, according to the company.


Shares of Hyundai Heavy dropped 2.23 percent to trade at 525, 000 won as of 2:18 p.m. on the Seoul bourse despite positive earnings. The benchmark KOSPI fell 1.1 percent.
(Source:http://news.xinhuanet.com)