Published : Jan. 26, 2016 - 10:44
South Korea’s top three shipbuilders are expected to post reduced operating losses for the fourth quarter of 2015, but prospects remain grim for this year, industry sources and analysts said Tuesday.
World’s largest container ship, built by Hyundai Heavy Industries (Yonhap)
After posting a 1.5 trillion won ($1.25 billion) operating deficit during the January to September period, Samsung Heavy Industries is estimated to have swung to a profit in the fourth quarter, according to local brokerages.
Hyundai Heavy Industries, which accumulated 1.26 trillion won in operating losses through September, was also forecast to turn to profit or narrow its loss, guidance reports showed.
Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering was predicted to remain in the red in the fourth quarter following 4.53 trillion won in losses in the January-September period, but the amount was forecast to be lower than previous levels.
Experts, however, say profitability for the three shipyards are unlikely to improve drastically this year due to lower oil prices and a slackened demand for new vessels.
Combined, the three companies logged an estimated 2.1 trillion won of losses during the third quarter of this year.
(khnews@heraldcorp.com)