Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., a major South Korean shipbuilder, reported Thursday that it swung to the black last year from a year earlier, thanks in part to reduced costs and improvement in its non-shipbuilding business.
Net income came to 682 billion won ($595 million) last year on a consolidation basis, a turnaround from a loss of 1.36 trillion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.
(Yonhap)
Sales dropped 15 percent on-year to reach 39.32 trillion won, while it logged an operating profit of 1.64 trillion won, a rebound from an operating loss of 1.54 trillion won tallied in the same period the year before.
Eased burden from costs and an improvement in its non-shipbuilding business were also cited as factors that helped boost the bottom line.
The shipbuilder said gains from equity ties with Hyundai Oilbank Co., its refining unit, also contributed to its bottom line, and its efforts to cut costs and streamline its business portfolio also paid off.
Hit by an industrywide slump and increased costs, Hyundai Heavy suffered 1.36 trillion won in losses in 2015 following a shortfall of 2.21 trillion won a year earlier.
During the fourth quarter of last year, the company logged an operating income of 438 billion won on sales of 10.34 trillion won, it said.
Hyundai Heavy said its units such as its offshore facility and construction business turned around last year. In particular, its refining unit, Hyundai Oilbank, logged an operating income of 966 billion won last year, it said.
Hyundai Heavy has been implementing self-rescue measures, including job cuts and asset sales, to tide over an industrywide slump.
Earlier, Hyundai Heavy unveiled a scheme to reorganize its businesses into six separate companies this year in its latest efforts to regain competitiveness and financial health.
Hyundai Heavy closed at 146,500 won on the Seoul bourse, up 1.38 percent from the previous session's close, while the broader index, the KOSPI, remained almost flat. (Yonhap)
