Seoul: Panocean on Monday reported its first-quarter net profit of 94.5 billion won (US$64.3 million), marking an increase of 31.3 percent from the same period last year.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the shipping company disclosed in a regulatory filing that it achieved an operating profit of 140.9 billion won for the quarter, up from 113.3 billion won a year prior. Additionally, the company's sales climbed 8.3 percent to reach 1.5 trillion won.

The reported earnings surpassed market predictions, as analysts had estimated an average net profit of 81.1 billion won based on a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data arm of Yonhap News Agency.