LS Marine Solution (060370.KS), a subsidiary of LS Cable & System, said on the 21st that its third-quarter operating profit reached 6.9 billion won ($4.8 million), up 235% from a year earlier. Operating profit for the first nine months totaled 17.2 billion won, a record high.
The gain came as orders increased in key markets, including the burial of subsea cables for a Taiwan Power Co. offshore wind farm, known as TPC2, and subsea telecommunications cable installation projects in the Asia-Pacific region. Subsidiary LS Buildwin also improved profitability by raising construction efficiency on subsea and underground cable projects in Asia.
Third-quarter revenue fell 4.3% from a year earlier to 73.6 billion won, as the company's subsea cable-laying vessel GL2030 was taken out of service for capacity upgrades. The vessel will return to work this month on a construction project in Malaysia, which is expected to drive a rebound in fourth-quarter revenue.
The company's order backlog stands at 820 billion won, or 3.4 times last year's annual revenue. LS Marine Solution plans to sustain earnings growth beyond the fourth quarter by pursuing additional large-scale projects, including the Sinan Ui and Taean offshore wind farms, and by seeking a role in a high-voltage direct current (HVDC) energy highway project along Korea's west coast.