Mixed fortunes for Korean yards

Dae Sun Shipbuilding in South Korea has returned to profit for the first quarter this year. Although turnover dropped slightly from W20.4 billion compared with W 20.5 billion last year, the shipyard generated a profit of W1.2 billion compared with a loss of W964 million during the same period last year. Net profit is W656 million compared with a deficit of W1.6 billion.

The shipbuilder recently secured an order for two 1,043TEU container ships from a Liberian ship owner at a total price of $45 million for delivery by April 2008.

Samsung Heavy Industries posted W1.26 trillion in turnover for the first quarter this year compared with W1.0528 trillion for the same period last year but suffered a loss of W36.2 billion compared to a profit of W24.8 billion for the same period last year. Net profit for the first quarter this year is in the deficit of W 4.5 billion compared with the loss of W 42 billion during the same quarter last year.

The shipbuilder said that its business results would improve as from the second half this year when higher priced ships will be delivered.

STX Shipbuilding posted profits for the first quarter this year. The shipbuilder earned W223.6 billion in turnover for the first quarter this year compared with W178.6 billion while net profits fell from W 34.2 billion to W7.7 billion. Operating profits dropped from W1.1 billion to a deficit of W42.7 billion.

Hanjin recorded a W482.9 billion turnover for the first three months this year compared with W417.4 billion last year. Its operating profit was reduced to W3.6 billion this year from W10.6 billion last year while net profit also dropped from W11.7 billion to W3.8 billion this year. It blamed the weak Dollar and the increase in steel prices.

In a bid to improve its competitiveness, Hanjin has signed a MOU with SBMA(Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority) to set up a block factory. Construction work of the 72.9 acre facility will start later this year and the factory will be operational from first quarter, 2007. Total investment is W50 billion and the plant will produce 30,000 tonnes of hatch covers for container ships per year and various steel fabrication products and achieve W55 billion turnover per year from 2008.

Hyundai also suffered a loss despite an increase in turnover for the first quarter this year. The company posted W2.41 trillion in turnover for the first quarter this year compared with W 2.164 trillion last year but operating profit fell from W66.4 billion to a loss of W74.2 billion for the first three months this year. Net profit also suffers loss of W 88.9 billion compared with a profit of W 20.2 billion last year.