S.Korean shipyard boosts Q3 net profit on cheaper materials

Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering, South Korea's second largest shipyard, said Wednesday its third-quarter net profit rose 56 per cent from a year earlier due to cheaper raw materials Net profit for July to September was 298.1 billion won (261.5 million US dollars), up 56 per cent from 191.3 billion won a year earlier.
Operating profit soared by 119 percent to 347.4 billion won from 158.7 billion won in the third quarter of 2009.
Sales amounted to 2.961 trillion won, down 4.4 per cent from 3.097 trillion won.
Daewoo said the price of raw materials such as steel had stabilised, boosting its margins.
"We expect that the upward (earnings) trend will be maintained as raw material prices are expected to show little volatility for a while," it said in a statement.
CEO Nam Sang-Tae said the company would "aggressively invest" in new businesses including renewable energy sources, according to the statement.
The shipbuilder won orders worth 7.3 billion US dollars during the first seven months of this year, including a deal in July to build 10 container ships for an unnamed global ship operator.
it also signed a 1.8 billion US dollar deal in August to build a floating oil production and storage platform for French energy giant Total. - AFP/fa