STX Pan Ocean Q3 net down 15 pct

SEOUL, Oct. 28 (Yonhap) -- South Korean shipper STX Pan Ocean Co. said Tuesday that its net profit for the third quarter fell 15 percent from a year earlier on falling shipping rates and reduced demand.

STX Pan Ocean, the leader in South Korea's dry bulk sector in terms of tons of
cargo shipped, earned 107 billion won (US$73 million) for the July-September
period, compared with 126 billion won for the same period a year ago, the company
said in a regulatory filing.
Third-quarter operating income gained 61 percent to 176 billion won, and sales
nearly doubled to 2.32 trillion won, it said.
Industry sources said a global economic downturn is expected to shrink demand for
bulk carriers to ship coal, iron ore and other commodities.
Shares of STX Pan Ocean were trading at 670 won on the Seoul bourse as of 10:00
a,m., down 1.47 percent.