Hyundai Heavy Industries Co Ltd , the world's biggest shipbuilder, said second-quarter net profit more than doubled on the back of improved demand for ships and offshore oil and gas platforms.
Ulsan-based Hyundai, which also makes marine engines and construction equipment, said it hoped an improved economy would boost global trade and new ship orders. The International Monetary Fund has said it expects the global economy to grow 4.6 percent this year compared with a 0.6 percent contraction in 2009.
Rival Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co Ltd said on Wednesday it had won a 1.2 trillion won ($994.7 million) ship order, reflecting a strong recovery in the global shipbuilding industry.
Hyundai Heavy said second-quarter net profit more than doubled to 910.5 billion won ($754.7 million), up from 393 billion won a year earlier. The result compared with a Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S estimate of 739 billion won.
Sales were little changed at 5.3 trillion won.
The company, which has targeted $17.7 billion in new orders this year, said order intake in the first half totalled $10 billion, led by non-shipbuilding sectors such as offshore engineering, plant and construction equipment. It also said it had received new orders for 30 ships worth $1.6 billion. It may take eight months to build a dry bulk vessel and up to 18 months to build a liquefied natural gas ship, according to Daewoo Securities.
South Korea won contracts to build 207 vessels for non-Korean companies in the first six months of the year. The South Korean government has sais new ship orders should continue to grow in the second half on recovery in the shipping industry.
But the country has lost its position as the world's No.1 shipbuilder to China. London-based ship broker Clarkson Research Services said Chinese shipyards beat their South Korean rivals in contracts, order books and deliveries in the first half of this year.
Unlike domestic rivals Samsung Heavy Industries Co Ltd and Daewoo Shipbuilding, Hyundai Heavy has a more diversified business portfolio.
Ship sales comprised 43 percent of the company's total sales in 2009, with offshore oil and gas platforms at 16 percent. Hyundai also makes marine engines, construction equipment and industrial plants, which made up 27 percent of 2009 sales.
"We think that even $20 billion in orders for 2010 is possible for Hyundai," said Sung Ki-Jong of Daewoo Securities.
Prior to the results announcement, shares in Hyundai Heavy closed up 3.85 percent, beating a 0.69 percent gain by the broader market .KS11.
Ulsan-based Hyundai, which also makes marine engines and construction equipment, said it hoped an improved economy would boost global trade and new ship orders. The International Monetary Fund has said it expects the global economy to grow 4.6 percent this year compared with a 0.6 percent contraction in 2009.
Rival Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co Ltd said on Wednesday it had won a 1.2 trillion won ($994.7 million) ship order, reflecting a strong recovery in the global shipbuilding industry.
Hyundai Heavy said second-quarter net profit more than doubled to 910.5 billion won ($754.7 million), up from 393 billion won a year earlier. The result compared with a Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S estimate of 739 billion won.
Sales were little changed at 5.3 trillion won.
The company, which has targeted $17.7 billion in new orders this year, said order intake in the first half totalled $10 billion, led by non-shipbuilding sectors such as offshore engineering, plant and construction equipment. It also said it had received new orders for 30 ships worth $1.6 billion. It may take eight months to build a dry bulk vessel and up to 18 months to build a liquefied natural gas ship, according to Daewoo Securities.
South Korea won contracts to build 207 vessels for non-Korean companies in the first six months of the year. The South Korean government has sais new ship orders should continue to grow in the second half on recovery in the shipping industry.
But the country has lost its position as the world's No.1 shipbuilder to China. London-based ship broker Clarkson Research Services said Chinese shipyards beat their South Korean rivals in contracts, order books and deliveries in the first half of this year.
Unlike domestic rivals Samsung Heavy Industries Co Ltd and Daewoo Shipbuilding, Hyundai Heavy has a more diversified business portfolio.
Ship sales comprised 43 percent of the company's total sales in 2009, with offshore oil and gas platforms at 16 percent. Hyundai also makes marine engines, construction equipment and industrial plants, which made up 27 percent of 2009 sales.
"We think that even $20 billion in orders for 2010 is possible for Hyundai," said Sung Ki-Jong of Daewoo Securities.
Prior to the results announcement, shares in Hyundai Heavy closed up 3.85 percent, beating a 0.69 percent gain by the broader market .KS11.