Hyundai Engineering and Construction Co. (Hyundai E&C), South Korea's largest builder, said Friday its net earnings for the first quarter dropped 20.6 percent on-year to 118.9 billion won (US$114.5 million). Operating profit, on the other hand, moved up 5 percent to 187.6 billion won in the same period, with sales numbers jumping 15 percent from the year before to 3.29 trillion won, the company said in a regulatory filing.