Pan Ocean Co., South Korea's leading bulk carrier, said Monday its second-quarter net profit rose nearly 2.5-fold from a year earlier on high freight rates.

Net profit came to 224.8 billion won ($172.2 million) in the April-June period, up 146.8 percent from a year earlier, the shipper said in a regulatory filing.

Sales jumped 52.4 percent on-year to 1.72 trillion won, with operating profit spiking 113.2 percent to 238.8 billion won.

Pan Ocean's second-quarter earnings well exceeded market expectations. The average estimate of net profit by analysts stood at 178.8 billion won, according to the survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency.

Pan Ocean, also the country's second-largest shipper by sales, attributed the stellar performance to the fact that container freight rates remained high in the three-month period, despite a correction in the Baltic Dry Index, a measurement of shipping costs for commodities.

Also responsible was an expansion in profits from its oil tanker segment thanks to the purchase of very large crude carriers and a recovery in the market for medium-range tankers, it added.

Pan Ocean said it will continue to invest in vessel purchases, including liquefied natural gas carriers, and expand its business portfolio in order to bolster its profit base. (Yonhap)