DSME posts second straight quarter of profit in Q2

The beleaguered Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering said Monday that it posted a second straight quarter of profit in the second quarter this year, largely thanks to cost-cutting measures and increased delivery of offshore facilities.

Net profit reached 1.26 trillion won ($1.1 billion) in the April-June period, following a profit of 234 billion won in the previous quarter, it said in a regulatory filing.

The shipbuilder logged an operating income of 665 billion won in the second quarter, widening from an operating income of 223 billion won three months earlier.

Sales also rose to 3.46 trillion won from 2.73 trillion won over the cited period.

In the first half of the year, Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering racked up a net profit of 1.49 trillion won and an operating income of 888 billion won.

In March, its creditors, led by Korea Development Bank, announced a fresh bailout package worth 6.7 trillion won for the shipbuilder.

The company is hard pressed to implement turnaround measures worth 5.3 trillion won through 2018. It has already sold off non-core assets and cut its workforce, through which it has raised or saved 1.8 trillion won.

For the rest of the year, the shipbuilder aims to cut costs for workers by 25 percent to 640 billion won. Moreover, it is planning to cut its workforce to below 9,000 by 2018, and will try to sell more assets. YONHAP