(LEAD) Korea Aerospace Q3 net jumps 28 pct on FX gains

Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd. (KAI), the country's sole aircraft manufacturer, said Tuesday its third-quarter net profit jumped 28 percent from a year earlier on foreign-exchange gains. Net profit for the three months to September rose to 67.9 billion won (US$49 million) from 52.9 billion won during the same period of last year, the company said in a regulatory filing. "The won's strength against the dollar for a certain period of time in the third quarter contributed more to the bottom line," a company spokesperson said by phone. A strong won drives down the value of an exporter's dollar-denominated debt when converted into the local currency. In the third quarter, the dollar rose to an average of 1,359.38 won from 1,310.95 won a year earlier, according to data from the Bank of Korea. The won's weakness against the greenback for all of the third quarter also buoyed the net result in terms of exports, he said. Operating profit climbed 9.9 percent to 76.3 billion won in the September quarter from 65.4 billion won a year ago. Sales fell 9.9 percent to 907.2 billion won from 1 trillion won during the mentioned period. "Increased exports of trainer jets and light combat aircraft and recovering demand for passenger jet parts from clients like Boeing and Airbus propped up the quarterly profit," KAI said in a statement. Source: Yonhap News Agency