(Korea Line Corp.)

Korea Line Corp., South Korea's No. 2 bulk carrier, said Wednesday its earnings reached a new all-time high in the first half of the year amid high freight rates.

Net income came to 144.2 billion won ($110 million) in the January-June period, the shipping company said. The on-year growth rate was not disclosed.

Sales spiked nearly 58 percent on-year to 778.9 billion won, with its operating income shooting up 65 percent to 142.3 billion won.

Bolstered by bumper first-half earnings, Korea Line's debt ratio stood at 143.01 percent as of end-June, down 11.24 percentage points from six months earlier.

In the second quarter alone, Korea Line's top line surged about 60 percent on-year to 429.1 billion won, with operating income jumping 50.4 percent to 68.7 billion won.

Korea Line, a unit of SM Group, operates a fleet of 46 vessels together with its subsidiary Korea Line LNG Co. (Yonhap)