GS Engineering's Q2 net falls 42 pct on decreased orders

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By Nam Kwang-sik
SEOUL, July 21 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's GS Engineering & Construction Co. said
Tuesday that its net profit dropped 42 percent in the second quarter of this year
from a year earlier due to a fall in new orders.
Net income came to 86.8 billion won (US$69.5 million) in the April-June period,
compared with 150 billion won a year ago, GS Engineering & Construction said in a
statement.
Sales rose 17 percent on-year to 2.05 trillion won during the same period on the
back of a rise in overseas orders, while operating profit gained 12.1 percent to
158.6 billion won.
Shares of GS Engineering & Construction rose 1.75 percent to 75,600 won as of
10:36 a.m. on the Seoul bourse.
"Our new orders fell 31 percent in the second quarter from a year ago as orders
from overseas industrial plants and domestic housing sectors were on the
decrease," the company said.
GS Engineering also saw its new orders fall by more than 50 percent in the first
half of this year from a year ago.
The builder, however, has won major construction orders in recent weeks from
several Middle Eastern countries.
In late June, GS Engineering & Construction said it clinched a $500 million
preliminary deal from an Iranian firm to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG)
plant in Iran. The deal with Iran LNG Co. calls for the builder to complete the
plant by February 2012.
The South Korean builder also said on July 16 that a consortium led by it won a
$2.2 billion order to build a gas plant facility in the Habshan region of the
United Arab Emirates. The South Korean company owns a 55 percent interest in the
consortium.
ksnam@yna.co.kr
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