[Yonhap/ October 31, 2024] Samsung Heavy Industries Co., the world's third-largest shipbuilder by orders, said Thursday it has received a liquefied natural gas (LNG) ship order for 358 billion won (US$259 million).

Samsung Heavy will build the LNG carrier for an unidentified shipper in Asia by June 2027, the company said in a statement.

With the latest order, Samsung Heavy has received $5.6 billion worth of orders so far this year, which account for 58 percent of its annual order target of $9.7 billion.

The company said it is on track to achieve the annual target as it is in talks to win further deals for LNG ships and environment-friendly container carriers.

It has an order backlog of $31.9 billion, which will keep its Geoje-based shipyard, located about 330 kilometers south of Seoul, busy for the next three years.

In the January-September period, its net profit more than doubled to 153.2 billion won from 68.1 billion won a year earlier on increased orders for value-added ships like LNG carriers and floating LNG facilities, the company said earlier.