Hyundai Heavy books orders for four box ships, reports more red ink

MAY 3, 2018 — It was first the good news, then the bad, in regulatory filings today by South Korean shipbuilding giant Hyundai Heavy Industries Co.

The good news: Yonhap news agency reports Hyundai Heavy as saying it has received a 436.8 billion won (about $406 million) order to build four container carriers for Zodiac Group Monaco by July 2020.

The not so good news came in a later filing reported by Yonhap in which Hyundai Heavy said that it posted a net loss of 132.1 billion won (US$123 million) in the three months ending March 31, compared with a net profit of 114.1 billion won a year earlier.

The company said a strong won and fixed costs along with decreased orders cut into its quarterly bottom line.

The shipbuilder’s operating loss reached 123.8 billion won in the first quarter, shifting from a net profit of 141.5 billion won a year earlier.