(LEAD) Daelim Industrial Q1 net down 5.5 pct on equity losses

(ATTN: UPDATES with company's comments and details)

SEOUL, April 29 (Yonhap) -- Daelim Industrial Co., a major South Korean builder, said Wednesday its net profit fell 5.5 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier due to losses.

Net profit for the January-March period came to 223 billion won (US$183 million), compared with 236.4 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Daelim Industrial said low oil prices cut into the bottom line.

Yeochun NCC, a 50-50 joint venture between Daelim Industrial and Hanwha Solutions, operates a naphtha cracking center in South Korea's southern industrial city of Yeosu. Naphtha is a key raw material for petrochemicals.

Still, sales rose 8 percent on-year to 2.5 trillion won in the first quarter, and operating profit jumped 20.5 percent on-year to 290 billion won.

entropy@yna.co.kr
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