Seoul: Korea Gas Corp. (KOGAS), South Korea's state-run gas utility, announced on Thursday that its net profit for the second quarter nearly quadrupled compared to the same period last year, driven by increased equity gains. The company reported a net profit of 338.8 billion won (US$238.6 million) for the three months ending in June, up from 85.1 billion won a year earlier, according to a regulatory filing.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the significant rise in net profit was attributed to increased gains from investments in affiliated companies, which helped boost the quarterly bottom line despite facing higher interest costs and corporate taxes. A company spokesperson highlighted these factors but did not provide further details.

KOGAS also reported a substantial increase in its operating profit, which climbed by 66.9 percent to 675.3 billion won in the second quarter, compared to 404.6 billion won a year ago. However, the company's sales saw a slight decline of 1.6 percent, falling to 7.5 trillion won from 7.6 trillion won during the same period.

The company explained that the rise in operating profit was primarily due to lower liquefied natural gas (LNG) procurement costs and increased earnings from its overseas gas exploration projects in Mozambique and Australia. For the first half of the year, KOGAS's net profit surged by 96.1 percent to 887.14 billion won, compared to 452.28 billion won in the same period last year.