Ssangyong returns to black

Ssangyong Corp, a South Korean general trading company, said today that it swung to a net profit of 10.19 billion won (US$8.72 million) in the first half, a 214.2 per cent surge from a year ago.   The trading arm of Ssangyong Group said its revenue rose 10.9 per cent year-on-year to 670.1 billion won in the January-June period.  The company’s operating profit jumped 36.7 per cent to 14.96 billion won, with its ordinary profit jumping 200.5 per cent to 9.75 billion won.  The company attributed the turnaround to a rise in steel exports and a fall in interest expenses, which resulted from debt restructuring.

Ssangyong Group, once the nation’s sixth-largest conglomerate, has been reduced to a small business group with Ssangyong Cement, Ssangyong Corp. and eight other units under its wing. Creditors control the group following the bankruptcy of Ssangyong Motor Co. in the wake of Korea’s 1997-98 economic crisis.