HYUNDAI Heavy Industries Co, the worldís biggest shipbuilder, said yesterday first-quarter net profit rose 19 percent from last year.

Hyundai Heavy Industries earned 442.30 billion won (US$444 million) in the three months ended March 31, the company said in a statement to South Koreaís financial regulator. It posted net profits of 371 billion won a year ago.

Sales rose 18 percent to 4.35 trillion won from 3.68 trillion won a year earlier.

Kim Mi-ri, a company spokeswoman, said that in addition to record revenue in the quarter, Hyundai Heavy also had an all-time high operating profit of 639.6 billion won, up 59 percent from the same period last year, said Bloomberg News.

Hyundai Heavy delivered 22 ships during the quarter valued at a total US$2.4 billion, Kim said. Most of those orders were received in 2005 when ship prices were higher, she said.

The company delivered 13 container ships, four liquid petroleum gas carriers, three liquid natural gas, carriers and two oil tankers during the quarter. Hyundai Heavy received orders for 40 ships in the first quarter valued at US$5.9 billion, Kim said. As of March 31, it had an order backlog of 363 ships valued at US$34.3 billion.

The company has reported stellar earnings in recent years, benefiting from increased international trade ó especially involving China and its thirst for natural resources.