Seoul: S-Oil Corp., South Korea's third-largest refiner by sales, announced a return to net profit in the fourth quarter, attributing the positive turnaround to a weakening Korean won.

According to Yonhap News Agency, S-Oil's fourth-quarter net profit reached 265 billion won (US$183 million) for the October-December period. This marks a significant improvement from the previous year's loss of 131.7 billion won. Despite an operating profit surge of 90.9 percent to 424.5 billion won, revenue experienced a slight decline of 1.4 percent, totaling 8.79 trillion won.

The results, however, fell short of market expectations. Analysts had predicted a net profit of 278.1 billion won, based on a survey conducted by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data arm of Yonhap News Agency. The company noted that the weaker local currency played a crucial role in enhancing won-denominated profits.

S-Oil's refining business saw more than a 50 percent increase compared to the previous year, driven by seasonal demand and lower crude oil prices. Conversely, its petrochemical division remained unprofitable. The company anticipates that persistent global demand and low crude oil prices will continue to impact its refining operations in the first quarter.