SEOUL: South Korean shipbuilding giant Hyundai Heavy Industries said Thursday that net profit in the January-March quarter fell 63 percent year on year due to a drop in orders of high-end ships.

First-quarter net profit was 523.1 billion ($463 million) compared with 1.419 trillion a year earlier.

Sales were up 9.7 percent to 13.94 trillion, while operating profit declined 43 percent to 969.1 billion.

The world's largest shipbuilder by sales said business was also hurt by higher thick steel plate prices.