Seoul: Hanwha Ocean Co. on Wednesday reported its fourth-quarter net profit of 539.1 billion won (US$371.7 million), marking a 7 percent decrease from the same period last year.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the company disclosed in a regulatory filing that its operating profit for the October-December period increased by 11.8 percent year-on-year to 189 billion won. Meanwhile, sales saw a slight decline of 0.8 percent, totaling 3.22 trillion won.

Despite the decline in net profit, the company's earnings surpassed market expectations. Analysts had projected an average net profit of 285.3 billion won, based on a survey conducted by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data arm of Yonhap News Agency.