Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings and All Affiliates Turn Profitable... Strong Performance Despite COVID-19 Challenges

[Asia Economy Reporter Park So-yeon] Despite the impact of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), all subsidiaries of Hyundai Heavy Industries Group posted profits in the third quarter. Major affiliates such as Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering and Hyundai Oilbank continued their profit-making trend based on differentiated competitiveness, while Hyundai Electric and Hyundai Construction Equipment also delivered decent results through cost reduction efforts.

According to the industry on the 2nd, Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings recorded an operating profit of 101.1 billion KRW in the third quarter of this year. Although this is a 54% decrease compared to the same period last year, considering that the major affiliates belong to the shipbuilding and refining industries, which were directly hit by COVID-19, the performance is considered commendable. It is also notable that all affiliates recorded profits. In the third quarter, Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings' sales were 4.5779 trillion KRW, down 29.9% from the same period last year, and net profit was 34.6 billion KRW, down 47.7%.

Among Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings' major affiliates, Hyundai Oilbank posted an operating profit of 35.2 billion KRW in the third quarter, following a return to profitability in the second quarter. This contrasts with other refiners such as SK Innovation and S-Oil, which recorded losses in the third quarter due to the impact of COVID-19. The profit size surged by 166.7% compared to 13.2 billion KRW in the previous quarter. It is evaluated that the company performed well thanks to refining margins and flexible production and sales of products in response to market fluctuations.

Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, the intermediate holding company of Hyundai Heavy Industries Group's shipbuilding division, recorded an operating profit of 40.7 billion KRW in the third quarter, a 34.3% increase compared to the same period last year. The company explained that the operating profit maintained a profit-making trend thanks to the expansion of high-profitability ships and efforts to reduce costs. However, net profit recorded a loss of 77 billion KRW due to foreign exchange losses caused by the depreciation of the exchange rate.

Hyundai Electric turned profitable thanks to the depletion of existing low-priced orders. Operating profit was 29.4 billion KRW, turning from an operating loss of 4 billion KRW in the same period last year. Hyundai Construction Equipment and Hyundai Robotics also posted operating profits of 26.3 billion KRW and 2.2 billion KRW, respectively, in the third quarter.

A Hyundai Heavy Industries Group official said, "Despite the impact of COVID-19, all affiliates recorded profits thanks to cost reduction efforts," adding, "We will do our best to improve profitability based on differentiated competitiveness such as the development of eco-friendly and smart ship technologies."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.