South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries Co. said Thursday that its third-quarter earnings more than doubled from a year earlier on increased orders for offshore facilities.

Net profit reached 277 billion won ($254 million) on a consolidated basis in the July-September period, compared with a profit of 111 billion won a year earlier, the company said.

Sales rose 19 percent on-year to 4.06 trillion won over the cited period, and operating income surged 39.2 percent to 324 billion won.

In the first nine months of the year, the shipbuilder’s sales rose 8.5 percent on-year to reach 10.91 trillion won, but operating income fell 4.1 percent to 925 billion won, it said.

Samsung Heavy said its profit in the first nine months of the year rose 7.2 percent on-year to amount to 723 billion won.

Shares of Samsung Heavy closed at 32,700 won on the Seoul bourse, down 1.95 percent. (Yonhap News)