The state-run Korea Gas Corp. said Friday its net losses narrowed sharply in the second quarter on gas price hikes.

Net losses for the three months ending June 30 narrowed to 6.8 billion won ($5.6 million) from 129.6 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a statement. 

"Gas prices rose 4.5 percent for the year. Some of the company's outstanding payments for gas supply to the markets were retrieved in the second quarter. These gave a big boost to the quarterly bottom line," a spokesman for the world's biggest corporate gas buyer said.

Operating profit soared to 204.7 billion won in the second quarter from 1.5 billion won a year ago. Sales fell 3.6 percent to 4.87 trillion won from 5.06 trillion won during the same period, it said.

From January to June, net profit fell 19 percent to 525.5 billion won from 651.5 billion won in the same period in 2018. Operating income climbed 9.7 percent on-year to 1.07 trillion won on sales of 13.58 trillion won, a 1.8 percent on-year decline.

South Korea is the world's second-biggest buyer of natural gas after Japan.(Yonhap)