HHI profit down

In the first quarter of the year, Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) posted $1.8 billion in sales, a 12% increase from the same period last year while it achieved $17 million. This is an 18.5% reduction in operating profit from the corresponding period last year. This decline is chiefly due to the fact that most of the orders taken in 2002, when the shipbuilding prices bottomed out, are now treated as sales while raw material prices and the strong Won appreciation has worsen the shipbuilding division?s profitability. At the same time, the profitability of the Engine & Machinery Division also weakened amid the drop in engine prices under the impact from the contraction in shipbuilding prices.