Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, a South Korean shipbuilder, saw its operating profit plunge 37.5 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier due to an overall slump in the global shipbuilding industry, a regulatory filing showed Monday.

Consolidated operating profit reached 29.64 billion won ($ 27.24 million) during the July-September period, down 37.5 percent from the same period of last year, according to the regulatory filing.

Sales increased 0.4 percent on-year to 1.1 trillion won in the third quarter, but net income tumbled 45.1 percent to 31.89 billion won.

The third-quarter plunge in operating profit was attributable to the overall slowdown in the global shipbuilding sector caused by the global economic slump and the lingering uncertainties such as the eurozone's fiscal crisis.

The operating profit, however, expanded 9.6 percent from three months before due to an improved order mix. Revenue grew 1.4 percent on an on-quarter basis, and net income surged 47.3 percent.

Hyundai Mipo, the unit of the world's No. 1 shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries, saw lower sales portion of low margin vessels such as bulk carriers and containerships and greater sales portion of high margin vessels such as LPG carriers and product carriers. As of August, the mid-sized shipbuilder has won new orders worth 1. 9 trillion won, reaching 55.9 percent of the company's current full-year target of 3.4 trillion won.

Source: Xinhua