GS Engineering & Construction Co., South Korea's fifth-largest builder in terms of construction capacity, said Friday its first-quarter net profit plunged 38.1 percent from a year earlier due to one-off costs.

GS E&C posted a net profit of 130 billion won (US$111 million) in the January-March period, compared with a net income of 209 billion won a year earlier, the builder said in a regulatory filing.

Its operating profit halved to 191 billion won in the first quarter from 389 billion won from a year ago. Sales declined 16.8 percent on-year to 2.6 trillion won.

The company said one-off expenses related to bonus payments cut into its quarterly bottom line. It also cited the base effect, saying that the first quarter of 2018 had one-off gains worth 180 billion won.

Meanwhile, the company said its Brazilian unit, GS Inima Brasil Ltda., decided to acquire FIP Operacoes Industriais, an affiliate of BRK Ambiental S.A. that specializes in industrial water treatment, for 229 billion won. It will hold a 82.76-percent stake in the Brazilian water firm.

Shares of GS E&C closed at 39,550 won on the Seoul bourse, up 2.86 percent from the previous session. (Yonhap)

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