Hanjin Shipping Co., South Korea's leading shipping line, said Thursday that it swung to the black in the first quarter from a year earlier thanks to lower fuel costs and better streamlined shipping routes.

Net profit came to 22.91 billion won ($21 million) in the January-March period, a turnaround from a loss of 224.45 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Operating profit came to 155.03 billion won during the cited period, also switching back to the black from a loss of 66.24 billion won a year earlier. Sales inched up 0.54 percent on-year to 2.15 trillion won.

The improvement was attributed to cheaper fuel thanks to subdued prices of international crude oil. Its efforts to streamline shipping routes in container shipping also played a role in boosting earnings.

An affiliate of Korean Air Lines Co., the country's largest flag carrier, Hanjin Shipping said that its container shipping sales grew 2.2 percent on-year to 1.97 trillion won. Its operating profit in the sector came to 163.9 billion won.

In the bulk vessel business, its operating loss narrowed 23.7 percent to 28.3 billion won over the cited period, the company noted.

Shares of Hanjin Shipping closed down 0.55 percent at 7,280 won on the Seoul bourse, while the benchmark KOSPI gained 0.29 percent. (Yonhap)