Hyundai ship-building stocks plunge on grim earnings forecast
Seoul — Shares in Hyundai Heavy Industries plunged by more than a quarter on Wednesday after the world’s largest ship-builder by sales announced a plan to issue new stocks in a bid to shore up its ailing finances. The South Korean firm has struggled amid an industry-wide slump in recent years, as global demand slowed and competition from China intensified while over-capacity slashed prices. Hyundai announced the plan on Tuesday to raise 1.3-trillion won ($1.2bn) by issuing new shares — a move that would dilute share values — and to list Hyundai Oilbank, its refining unit, on a local stock market next year. It also released a grim earnings forecast for this year, in which its sales would be more than halved to 15.3-trillion won from 39.3-trillion won in 2016, before falling further to 13.6-trillion won in 2018. The forecast flagged operating profit of 46.9-billion won for 2017 — a significant decrease from 1.6-trillion won a year ago — sparking concerns over its overall finances. The...
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