Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co., South Korea's No. 2 builder, said Friday its 2014 net profit advanced 3 percent from a year earlier as it won major construction projects overseas.

The bottom line came to 586.7 billion won ($541.1 million), up from 569.6 billion won in 2013, while operating profit and sales both jumped 20.9 percent and 24.7 percent, respectively, the company said in a regulatory filing.

"Hyundai E&C has logged a remarkable earnings record despite difficult business conditions both at home and abroad, including the current industrywide slump and falling oil prices," a company official said.

The builder clinched the largest amount of overseas deals in terms of their sum, having won contracts worth a combined $11.7 billion, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. It started construction projects in places like Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.

Hyundai E&C's net profit for the October-December period last year totaled 135.1 billion won, up 30.1 percent on-year. Consolidated operating profit climbed 13.1 percent to 230.7 billion won over the cited period, and sales also went up 20.5 percent to 4.3 trillion won.

"Considering the significant amount of orders on hand, the company's goal is to reach 19.2 trillion won in sales, up 10.4 percent from last year," the Hyundai E&C official said, adding that the firm will also raise its amount of new projects to 27.7 trillion won, up 1.9 percent on-year.

The company's share prices ended higher on the Seoul main bourse Friday, gaining 2.23 percent to close at 41,200 won versus benchmark KOSPI's 0.79 percent rise.  The earnings were released during market hours.

Hyundai E&C has the country's second-largest construction capacity, according to a report by the land ministry and the Construction Association of Korea. The report, announced every year, takes into account actual construction projects secured or underway; financial health and soundness of the management, technological and engineering prowess; and corporate reputation.

The construction company is an affiliate of Hyundai Motor Group, South Korea's No. 2 family-run business group and the world's fifth-largest automotive conglomerate.

South Korea's construction business has not seen satisfactory levels of performance in the past year. Although builders brought over orders from offshore worth $66 billion, the second-largest amount to be recorded, they still fell short of the initial target of $70 billion, according to government data. (Yonhap)