Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) Ltd., South Korea's sole aircraft manufacturer, said Monday its second-quarter net profit climbed more than fivefold from last year thanks to successful overseas orders. Net profit for the April-June period came to 55.4 billion won (US$40.1 million) on a consolidated basis, compared with 9.9 billion won from a year ago, the company said in a regulatory filing. Operating profit also soared more than eightfold to 74.3 billion won, and sales climbed 21.6 percent to 891.8 billion won. The earnings exceeded market expectations. The average estimate of net profit by analysts stood at 41.6 billion won, according to a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency. KAI said it managed to beat market expectations thanks to its second-quarter orders totaling 2.85 trillion won, more than 10 times that of the combined orders from a year ago. The company highlighted several of its successful contracts, including the mass production contract for the country's KF-21 indigenous fighter jet and that with Brazilian firm Eve Air Mobility for the supply of electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles. KAI CEO Kang Goo-young said the company plans to "invest in future businesses and expand into global markets to drive KAI's second phase of growth." Source: Yonhap News Agency