Hyundai Merchant Marine Co., South Korea's No. 2 shipping firm, said Tuesday that it swung to the black in the second quarter of the year from a year earlier, logging a profit for the first time in 10 quarters.

Net profit reached 31.7 billion won (US$28.3 million) in the April-June period, compared with a loss of 158 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Sales rose 8.7 percent on-year to reach 1.83 trillion won in the second quarter. The company's operating loss narrowed to 66.9 billion won from an operating loss of 86 billion won over the cited period, it said.

Hyundai Merchant said currency gains, cost-cutting efforts and gains from asset sales helped improve its profitability.

The shipper said container shipping is expected to recover in the third quarter of the year, with its bulk-carrier business expected to rebound on a series of shipping deals.

Shares of Hyundai Merchant were trading at 19,300 won on the Seoul bourse as of 10:20 a.m., up 0.52 percent from the previous session's close. (Yonhap News)