Sales of 769.3 Billion Won... Highest Quarterly Record Ever
Pulmuone achieved strong performance in the first quarter of this year, driven by growth in its concession and rest area businesses as well as a favorable overseas food business.
On the 17th, Pulmuone announced that its consolidated operating profit for the first quarter of this year was preliminarily estimated at 15.6 billion KRW, a 27.7% increase compared to the same period last year. Sales during the same period rose 5.4% to 769.3 billion KRW.
Specifically, the domestic food manufacturing and distribution division saw sales increase by 8.6 billion KRW year-on-year through the Pulmuone Jigu Diet campaign and growth in online channels, while the health care manufacturing and distribution division experienced a slight decline in performance compared to the previous year due to a temporary decrease in the number of products handled in the direct sales channel.
The food service and distribution division recorded a 14.7% increase in first-quarter sales to 204.6 billion KRW and a 238.6% increase in operating profit to 4.8 billion KRW, driven by an increase in domestic and international travelers, higher usage of airports and resorts during the Lunar New Year holiday, and new orders for group catering and concessions.
The overseas food manufacturing and distribution division, which includes the United States, Japan, China, and Vietnam, achieved first-quarter sales of 154.5 billion KRW, up 5.1% year-on-year, as its main U.S. subsidiary recorded the highest-ever tofu sales and Asian noodle products continued to grow. Operating loss was reduced to 800 million KRW from 6.6 billion KRW in the same period last year.
Sales of the U.S. subsidiary rose 15% year-on-year, supported by cost improvements and productivity enhancements following the expansion of the tofu production line at the Fullerton plant at the end of 2021 and the establishment of a new Asian noodle production line at the Gilroy plant in 2023, as well as growth in mainstream channels such as Costco. Although sales of the Japanese and Chinese subsidiaries slightly declined compared to the previous year, both subsidiaries significantly improved their operating losses through cost improvements and price increases.
Kim Jong-heon, Head of Financial Management at Pulmuone, stated, "In the domestic business, we plan to continuously expand the sustainable food category to strengthen market dominance and actively respond to future trends through food tech innovation technologies developed in collaboration with domestic and overseas startups and internal research." He added, "In overseas business, we plan to improve profitability by expanding from tofu and Asian noodles to various K-food products. We aim to achieve an operating profit turnaround for the entire overseas business, including the U.S. subsidiary, and expand the market to Canada and Europe."
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