Seoul: Poongsan Corp., South Korea's leading producer of copper alloys and ammunition, has announced a significant decline in its second-quarter net income, reporting a figure of 64.2 billion won (US$46 million), marking a 42.3 percent drop from the same period last year.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the company disclosed in a regulatory filing that its operating profit for the quarter was 93.6 billion won, a noticeable decrease from the 161.3 billion won reported a year earlier. Despite the drop in profits, Poongsan's sales saw a modest increase of 4.9 percent, reaching 1.29 trillion won.

The reported earnings were below market expectations, as analysts had predicted an average net profit of 89.3 billion won, based on a survey conducted by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency.