Korea Gas Corp. (KOGAS), Korea's state-run gas utility, said Thursday its third-quarter net profit more than tripled from a year earlier, driven by increased gains from equity investments and lower interest costs. Net profit for the three months ended in September jumped to 272.4 billion won ($204.6 million) from 86.8 billion won in the same period last year, the company said in a press release. "Gains from investments in affiliated companies and lower interest costs on outstanding loans boosted our quarterly bottom line," a company spokesperson said. Operating profit rose 51.1 percent to 587.8 billion won in the third quarter from 388.99 billion won a year ago. Sales climbed 17.8 percent to 7.5 trillion won from 6.37 trillion won. The company attributed its improved operating performance to increased earnings from a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Canada, in which KOGAS holds a stake, and a gas exploration project in Mozambique. For the first nine months of the year, net profit more than doubled to 1.16 trillion won from 539.09 billion won in the year-ago period. Operating profit r