Profits of GS Group drop 24%, oil refining margins blamed

GS Holdings Corp., the holding company of Korea’s eighth-largest conglomerate, said yesterday its net profit dropped 24 percent year-on-year to 435.1 billion won ($403 million).

The company said that sales dipped 1.4 percent to 9.58 trillion won, while operating profit slipped 19.3 percent year-on-year to 552.1 billion won on a consolidated basis.

GS Holdings Corp., whose affiliates include GS Retail, GS Home Shopping, GS EPS and GS Global, blamed the poor performance on the nation’s second-largest refiner, GS Caltex.

The company suffered from reduced refining margins and currency rate fluctuations. GS Caltex suffered a net loss of 103.1 billion won in the fourth quarter alone.

However, the holding company said it hopes for a better performance in the first quarter of this year as refining margins are likely to rebound, while earnings from other affiliates have been solid.