Samsung SDI Q1 net up 68.6 pct

SEOUL, April 28 (Yonhap) -- Samsung SDI Co., the world's No. 1 maker of lithium-ion batteries, said Thursday that its first-quarter earnings rose 68.6 percent from a year ago. Net income came to 78.7 billion won (US$73.4 million) in the January-March period, compared with 46.7 billion won a year ago, Samsung SDI said in a statement. Sales inched up 0.3 percent on-year to 1.21 trillion won in the period, while operating profit fell 6.7 percent to 60.3 billion won. The results include earnings from Samsung SDI's overseas subsidiaries. Shares of Samsung SDI fell 0.79 percent to 188,500 won as of 2:26 p.m. on the Seoul bourse.