Dongwon Group's Operating Profit Last Year 464.4 Billion KRW... 6.1% Decrease

Despite Growth in Food Business, Packaging Business Declines
Dividend per Share Confirmed at 1,100 Won... Dividend Payout Ratio Expanded

Dongwon Industrial, the business holding company of Dongwon Group, announced on the 14th that its operating profit on a consolidated basis for last year was preliminarily estimated at 464.4 billion KRW, down 6.1% from the previous year. During the same period, sales decreased by 0.9% to 8.9483 trillion KRW.

Dongwon Group CI

Dongwon Group's food business division showed solid growth through product diversification strategies such as mid-to-low-priced gift sets and management efficiency despite domestic consumption stagnation, but the packaging materials business division experienced negative growth due to the global economic downturn.

Specifically, Dongwon F&B, an affiliate in the food business division, recorded sales and operating profit of 4.3608 trillion KRW and 166.7 billion KRW respectively last year, increasing by 8.4% and 29.5% compared to the same period last year through balanced growth across all business sectors. Sales of general foods such as canned tuna and fresh foods including seasoned seaweed, refrigerated ham, and instant rice increased due to rising demand for home meals, and the dairy and beverage sectors also showed stable growth.

In addition, subsidiaries such as Dongwon Home Food, a B2B comprehensive food company, Dongwon Dear Food, an online food distribution company, and Dongwon Farms, a feed manufacturing and sales company, also contributed to improved performance.

The Dongwon Industrial business division recorded sales of 1.0902 trillion KRW, up 5.7% from the same period last year due to favorable tuna catches, but operating profit fell 16.9% to 126.8 billion KRW due to sluggish sales in the distribution business sector.

Dongwon Systems, an affiliate in the packaging materials business, recorded sales of 1.2767 trillion KRW, down 11.2% due to decreased mask demand following the COVID-19 endemic and reduced aluminum exports to the American market. Operating profit decreased by 12% to 80.9 billion KRW.

A Dongwon Group official said, "Management uncertainties continue across the group's core businesses including fisheries, food, packaging materials, and logistics," adding, "We will strengthen the fundamentals of existing businesses through management efficiency and profitability improvement, while creating a sustainable growth structure through bold investments for future businesses."

Meanwhile, Dongwon Industrial's board of directors confirmed a dividend of 1,100 KRW per common share on the same day. Following the payment of the largest dividend ever last year, the dividend was maintained at the previous year's level, and the dividend payout ratio expanded from 13.4% to 14.6% on a consolidated basis.

Earlier last month, Dongwon Industrial decided to cancel all 10,460,770 treasury shares, equivalent to one-fifth of the total issued shares, as part of efforts to enhance shareholder value. Dongwon F&B, an affiliate in the food business division, also participated in the shareholder return policy by increasing its dividend per share from 700 KRW to 800 KRW at a board meeting held on the same day.