'LNG Tailwind' Blows... Samsung Heavy Industries Turns Profitable in Q1

Q1 Sales 1.6 Trillion KRW · Operating Profit 19.6 Billion KRW
First Profit Turnaround in 22 Quarters

Samsung Heavy Industries announced its preliminary business results on the 27th, reporting sales of 1.6051 trillion KRW and an operating profit surplus of 19.6 billion KRW for the first quarter of 2023.

The photo shows an LNG carrier built by Samsung Heavy Industries. [Image source=Yonhap News]

The turnaround to an operating profit in the quarter is an achievement reached after 22 quarters since the third quarter of 2017. Compared to the previous quarter's loss of 335.8 billion KRW, this represents an improvement of 355.4 billion KRW.

The improvement in operating profit was mainly driven by the effect of reduced fixed costs due to an increase in annual sales volume from steady order performance since 2021, recovery in ship prices, and improved profit margins due to the slowdown in raw material price increases.

Meanwhile, first-quarter sales recorded a level similar to the previous quarter (1.6346 trillion KRW) despite the impact of fewer operating days. From the second quarter onward, a significant increase in sales is expected as the volume of high-priced ship construction rises.

A Samsung Heavy Industries official stated, "The realization of a profit in the first quarter means that Samsung Heavy Industries has transitioned to a stable profit structure through recovery of an appropriate scale of sales and improvement in profitability this year," adding, "As profits increase toward the second half of the year, we expect to achieve the annual operating profit target of 200 billion KRW announced at the beginning of the year."

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