SK Innovation, the owner of South Korea’s top refiner SK Energy Co., said Friday its first-quarter net income fell 64.1 percent from a year earlier due to foreign exchange losses and a weak refining margin.

Net profit reached 97.58 billion won ($94 million) in the January-March period compared with 272.17 billion won a year ago, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Sales dropped 6.7 percent to 16.89 trillion won in the period, and operating profit was down 67.5 percent to 226.2 billion won.

The financial results were from SK Innovation and its units such as SK Energy and SK Global Chemical.

“The company’s weak first-quarter net profit came from a lower cracking margin and currency losses,” the company said. The benchmark Singapore cracking margin ― a measure of profitability of oil refiners ― fell to an average of $2.70 per barrel against Dubai crude in the first quarter from $5 per barrel a year ago. (Yonhap)