GS, 1Q Operating Profit 706.4 Billion KRW... Up 7366% YoY (Update)

GS Management Performance in Q1 2021. Data provided by GS Corporation.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] GS announced on the 10th that its operating profit for the first quarter of this year reached 706.4 billion KRW, a 7,366% increase compared to the first quarter of last year.

Sales increased by 2% during the same period to 4.2846 trillion KRW, and net profit turned positive to 584.6 billion KRW. Compared to the fourth quarter of last year, operating profit rose by 153% and sales by 173%.

The profitability significantly improved as its subsidiary GS Caltex escaped from large-scale losses caused by COVID-19 that emerged early last year. The refining industry’s accounting is greatly affected by valuation depending on oil price fluctuations, and in the first quarter of last year, it recorded losses exceeding 1 trillion KRW.

A company official explained, "GS Caltex was able to achieve strong performance due to inventory-related gains from rising oil prices and improvements in the spread of petrochemical products and lubricants," adding, "The performance of power generation subsidiaries also improved overall."