(LEAD) Samsung Heavy's Q3 net losses narrow on one-off gains

By Nam Kwang-sik
(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with more details; CHANGES headline)

SEOUL, Oct. 30 (Yonhap) -- Samsung Heavy Industries Co. said Friday its net losses narrowed in the third quarter from a year earlier due to one-off gains.

Net losses shrank to 7.4 billion won (US$6.5 million) in the July-September period from a net loss of 583.2 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Sales fell 14.6 percent on-year to 1.67 trillion won, while operating losses narrowed to 13.4 billion won from 312 billion won a year earlier.

"Reduced costs of raw materials and additional proceeds from changed orders for offshore plants helped prop up the bottom line," the company said in an e-mailed statement.

Samsung Heavy also said it will make concerted efforts to gain more orders for liquefied natural gas carrier in the rest of the year.

But the shipbuilder won $1 billion worth of orders in the nine-month period, marking 12 percent of its target of $8.4 billion.

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