LX International posted second-quarter results that beat market expectations this year, helped by rising global resource prices and higher ocean freight rates.
LX International disclosed on the 3rd that, on a consolidation basis, operating profit in the second quarter this year was 117.8 billion won, a 114.2% increase from 55 billion won in the same period last year, based on preliminary figures.
Revenue was 4.7763 trillion won, up 24.7% from 3.8302 trillion won a year earlier. Net profit was 78.8 billion won, about 40.2% higher than 56.2 billion won in the same period last year.
This is above the securities industry's forecast. Earlier, FnGuide's second-quarter securities consensus for LX International was revenue of 4.3663 trillion won and operating profit of 116.7 billion won. Actual revenue and operating profit were 9.3% and 0.9% higher than the forecasts, respectively.
LX International's main businesses are resources such as nickel and the trading and logistics institutional sectors, and this quarter's earnings improvement was driven by higher resource prices.
Operating profit in the resources institutional sector rose 148% to 21.6 billion won, driven by higher nickel selling prices and increased production at the Indonesia AKP nickel mine, compared with 8.7 billion won a year earlier. The palm business institutional sector also saw higher profit on stronger palm oil market conditions.
Performance in the trading institutional sector also improved. Second-quarter operating profit in the trading institutional sector was 45.2 billion won, about four times higher than 11.4 billion won a year earlier. LX International said profit improved as market conditions strengthened for key trading items such as methanol and LCD panels.
Rising ocean freight rates also had a positive effect on results. Second-quarter operating profit in the logistics institutional sector was 51 billion won, up 46% from 34.9 billion won in the same period last year. The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) rose 39.1% year over year.
An LX International official said, "Results rose sharply from a year earlier on higher global resource market conditions and improved profitability in the trading institutional sector," and added, "We are continuously pursuing additional acquisitions of promising future mineral asset such as nickel and bauxite, and we will focus on delivering tangible outcomes by accelerating the discovery of new revenue sources through business portfolio diversification and regional diversification."