Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., the world's largest shipbuilder, clinched orders worth US$2.4 billion in the January-March period, compared with its full-year target of $9.2 billion.
Its affiliate, Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co., won orders worth $2.3 billion in the first three months of the year. Hyundai Mipo's full-year target for shipbuilding orders is set at $3.6 billion.
Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries Co., Hyundai Heavy's another sister company, received orders worth $2 billion during the cited period, 43.4 percent of its full-year target.
"The first-quarter performance was impressive as foreign companies continued to place shipbuilding orders," a Hyundai Heavy Industries official said.
South Korea, home to seven of the world's top 10 shipyards, clinched record-high orders last year on strong demand for crude carriers and offshore exploration equipment amid lofty oil prices.
Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., the world's No. 2 shipbuilder, posted orders worth $2.4 billion in the first quarter, compared with its yearly target of $11 billion.
Samsung Heavy Industries Co., the third-largest shipbuilder in the world, won $3.5 billion worth of orders in the three-month period, or 31.8 percent of its full-year goal of $10 billion.
STX Shipbuilding Co., the world's seventh-largest shipbuilder, also joined the bullish run, clinching orders worth $1.4 billion in the first quarter of the year. The figure is up 40 percent from a year earlier. The shipbuilder targets $4.5 billion in orders this year.