Seoul: KT and G Corp., South Korea's leading tobacco manufacturer, announced a decline in its fourth-quarter net profit to 274.2 billion won (US$186.9 million), marking a 15.7 percent decrease from the previous year.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the company revealed in a regulatory filing that its operating profit for the quarter amounted to 248.8 billion won, up from 212.5 billion won a year earlier. Additionally, the company's sales experienced a 10.1 percent increase, reaching 1.71 trillion won.

The reported earnings surpassed market expectations, with analysts predicting an average net profit of 216.6 billion won, as per a survey conducted by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data division of Yonhap News Agency.