State-run Korea Gas Corp. said Thursday that its fourth-quarter earnings more than doubled from a year earlier due to increased sales and higher prices of refined energy products.

Net profit reached 94.7 billion won ($84 million) in the October-December period, compared with earnings of 45.2 billion won tallied a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Sales jumped 34.6 percent to 8.7 trillion won during the cited period, with operating profit climbing 53.2 percent to 362.1 billion won.

The utility firm attributed the profit surge to increased sales and better prices for gas products caused by higher international natural gas and crude oil prices.

For the whole of 2011, its consolidated net profit dropped 36.5 percent on-year to 174.7 billion won. Sales, however, jumped 25.3 percent to 28.5 trillion won, with operating profit gaining 5 percent to 1 trillion won.

KOGAS said it plans to import 36.4 million tons of natural gas this year and aims to raise its sales to 31.4 trillion won, with operating profit expected to reach 945.2 billion won.

Shares of KOGAS closed at 41,700 won on the Seoul bourse, up 3.09 percent from the previous session. The fourth-quarter earnings were released before the market closed. (Yonhap News)