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SEOUL, Aug. 7 (Yonhap) -- Korea Gas Corp. (KOGAS), South Korea's state-run gas utility, said Thursday its second-quarter net profit nearly quadrupled from a year earlier, driven by increased equity gains.

Net profit for the three months that ended in June rose to 338.8 billion won (US$238.6 million) from 85.1 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.

"Increased gains from investments in affiliated companies boosted the quarterly bottom line despite higher interest costs and corporate taxes," a company spokesperson said, without providing further details.

Operating profit climbed 66.9 percent to 675.3 billion won in the second quarter from 404.6 billion won a year earlier.

Sales fell 1.6 percent to 7.5 trillion won from 7.6 trillion won over the same period.

The company attributed the increase in operating profit to lower liquefied natural gas (LNG) procurement costs and higher earnings from its overseas gas exploration projects in Mozambique and Australia.

For the first six months of the year, net profit surged 96.1 percent to 887.14 billion won from 452.28 billion won in the same period last year.

kyongae.choi@yna.co.kr

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