DSME marks KRW 157.6 in net profits

Separated from Daewoo Heavy Industries in the latter half of 2000, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) earned KRW 3.156 trillion in sales last year and KRW 15.76 million in net profits in its first year of separation from its parent company, said a spokesperson for the company.

Trading profits recorded KRW 292.4 billion and ordinary profits KRW 231.2 billion. This surpassed its original goals by KRW 48.3 billion in sales, KRW 3.8 billion in operating profits, and KRW 9.6 billion in ordinary profits.

DSME also explained that it lowered its debt ratio to 80% by decreasing loans from KRW 1.19 trillion at the end of 2000 to KRW 622.6 billion last year. It said that it would attain ordinary profits of KRW 350 billion, an increase by 57.9% this year over last year where sales grew by 7.7% to KRW 3.25 trillion thanks to orders for high-value added vessels.

The company is set to launch 38 vessels this year, centering on LNG vessels over 300,000 tons. It plans to build the LNG vessels in the first graving dock and container and tankers in the second. Especially, it will focus on building Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs), a high-value added vessel sized over 300,000 tons. DMSE will aim at continuous dock utilization in order to build vessels without interruptions.

An officer at DSME said, “Total production is expected to increase as we received orders for larger vessels, though the total vessel numbers are close to last year’s.”