Kenko Aerospace Achieves 24 Billion KRW in H1... "Record Highest Sales"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hyowon] Kenko Aerospace recorded the highest-ever sales growth in the first half of the year, following its performance in the first quarter.

Kenko Aerospace announced on the 17th that its consolidated sales for the first half of the year reached 24 billion KRW, up 35% compared to the same period last year and 40% compared to the previous quarter.

Sales based on the Korean headquarters (separate) reached 12.6 billion KRW, a 180% increase compared to the same period last year, already surpassing last year's total annual sales. This sales growth is attributed to the cargo aircraft conversion business (PTF Conversion), which has been fully reflected since April this year. Since development was completed in a short period and mass production has begun, even steeper sales growth is expected in the second half of the year.

Kenko was listed in March last year under the Tesla requirements. The Tesla requirement listing is a special listing system that allows entry into the KOSDAQ market for companies with deficits if they show growth potential. Kenko is continuing rapid growth in line with the Tesla requirements. It is attracting attention as the fastest recovering company in the aviation manufacturing industry since COVID-19.

Profitability improvement is also expected through increased production volume and securing new orders this year. Kenko recorded an operating loss of 4.8 billion KRW due to the temporary reflection of the initial cost rate of the 260 billion KRW cargo aircraft conversion project ordered in April last year. The cost rate is expected to stabilize rapidly after the third quarter when full-scale mass production costs are reflected.

The volume of cargo aircraft conversions is continuously increasing, and additional orders for follow-up projects are in the final stages. Since early this year, more than 5 billion KRW has been newly invested to expand production facilities. Accordingly, sales in the second half of the year are expected to increase significantly, and the cost rate is expected to continue decreasing.

Additionally, the U.S. subsidiaries Kenko USA and California Metal achieved net profits in the first half of the year following last year, supported by securing orders for space launch vehicles and expanding defense business. They plan to continue growth in the second half of the year based on synergy effects among subsidiaries by expanding the rapidly growing space business sector in the U.S.

A company official stated, “Kenko overcame the COVID-19 crisis and succeeded in sales recovery within a year through the cargo aircraft conversion business and entry into the U.S. launch vehicle market,” adding, “Since the Korean headquarters’ first half sales have already exceeded last year’s total sales, we expect to achieve the highest-ever annual performance this year.”

He added, “We are expanding partnerships with leading overseas technology companies to officially launch domestic businesses in future growth industries such as cargo drones and urban air mobility (UAM), beyond MRO, space launch vehicles, and U.S. defense business.”