Seoul: Hankook Tire and Technology Co., South Korea's leading tiremaker, on Wednesday reported its fourth-quarter net income of 107.5 billion won (US$74.1 million), marking a 73.7 percent increase from the previous year.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the company disclosed in a regulatory filing that its operating income for the October-December period rose 15.9 percent year-on-year to 548.3 billion won. Additionally, revenue surged 115.5 percent, reaching 5.45 trillion won.

Despite the growth, the earnings were lower than market expectations. Analysts surveyed by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency, had projected an average net profit estimate of 312.5 billion won.