South Korean builder Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. said Thursday its fourth quarter net profit spiked 57.4 % from a year earlier despite a drop in sales. 
Net profit came to 260.06 billion won (US$224.5 million) in the October-December period, compared with a net profit of 165.2 billion in the same period in 2015, the company said in a regulatory filing, South Korean News Agency (Yonhap) reported. 
Operating profit also surged 13 % on-year to 301.98 billion won despite a 6.1% drop in sales. 
Sales came to about 5.3 trillion won in the three months ended Dec. 31, compared with 5.65 trillion won a year earlier, it said. 
For the entire year of 2016, sales slipped 2 % on-year to 18.74 trillion won. 
Net profit soared 11.4 % to 650.4 billion won, with operating profit gaining 6.5 % to 1.05 trillion won.