HHI hammered in Q4

Hyundai Heavy Industries has seen its fourth quarter profit battered as it rolled out vessels penned in the wake of the global financial crisis.

Seoul-listed HHI saw its bottom line plummet over 90% to KRW 71.3bn ($64m), filings show.

While sales picked up by 5% to KRW 6.75 trillion, HHI’s margin was squeezed from 17% to 6% year on year.

Operating profit slumped by two thirds to KRW 404.6bn.

HHI, which will pay a dividend of KRW 4,000 per share for the quarter, was also hurt by lower returns from its plant construction and renewable energy activities, Bloomberg reports.

Declining margins have become a familiar theme for South Korea’s listed yards in the past few quarters as cheaper ships from 2009 work their way to the water.

HHI has set a target of $30.6bn in fresh ship, offshore and plant construction orders in 2012, up by one fifth on last year.

Hur Sung Duck, an analyst at HI Investment & Securities Co, in which HHI is a shareholder, told Bloomberg: “There’s going to be more orders for offshore products this year and Hyundai Heavy will be the one to benefit.

“Meanwhile, it’s going to be a dry period for ship orders.”

Printable version Newsletter sign up