(LEAD) Hanwha Ocean's Q3 net falls 46 pct despite strong operating earnings

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SEOUL, Oct. 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean Co. said Tuesday its third-quarter net profit dropped 46.1 percent from a year earlier, despite strong operating earnings driven by increased sales of high value-added vessels and naval ships.

Net profit stood at 145.1 billion won (US$109.6 million) in the July-September period, down from 269.4 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Operating profit jumped 67.6 percent on-year to 485.7 billion won, while sales rose 12.9 percent to 3.41 trillion won over the period.

Revenue from commercial ships reached 2.7 trillion won, while sales from the naval and specialized vessel segment totaled 363 billion won.

Hanwha Ocean attributed the rise in operating profit to increased deliveries of high value-added commercial vessels and stronger revenue from its naval shipbuilding business, including submarines and surface vessels.

As of the end of September, Hanwha Ocean had secured orders worth a combined US$7.72 billion for eight liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers, six container ships, 18 very large crude carriers (VLCCs), three very large ammonia carriers (VLACs), three very large LPG carriers (VLGCs) and one wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV).

ejkim@yna.co.kr
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