CJ Freshway Surpasses 3 Trillion Won in Sales Last Year... Operating Profit Down 5.3%

Sales reach 3.2248 trillion KRW, up 4.9% year-on-year

CJ Freshway succeeded in expanding its scale by surpassing 3 trillion KRW in sales last year. However, operating profit slightly decreased due to sluggish domestic demand and other factors.

CJ Freshway announced on the 7th that it recorded sales of 3.2248 trillion KRW last year, a 4.9% increase compared to the same period of the previous year. During the same period, operating profit was 94 billion KRW, down 5.3%. The operating profit slightly decreased due to the sluggish domestic economy and weakened consumer sentiment caused by high inflation and high interest rates.

Sales and operating profit in the fourth quarter of last year recorded 850.2 billion KRW and 25.2 billion KRW, respectively, up 7.9% and 3.4% compared to the same period of the previous year.

Looking at each sector, sales in the food ingredient distribution business reached 2.3931 trillion KRW, maintaining its position as the industry leader. In particular, sales of food ingredients to meal service facilities showed continuous growth. It is noteworthy that both the supply channels and volume increased simultaneously due to the aging society, including elderly welfare and nursing facilities. Sales of food ingredients to dining-out businesses maintained solid performance by securing large franchise brands such as No More Pizza, Segwang Yangdaechang, and Slow Cali.

Food service (group catering) sales reached 778.1 billion KRW, driven by favorable business conditions. Demand for cafeterias in offices and industrial sites increased, leading to higher related sales. Additional service sales, such as takeout corners and in-house cafes, also rose according to diverse customer preferences. Active marketing activities, including inviting star chefs and events utilizing movie and drama IPs, enhanced customer satisfaction and order competitiveness.

Manufacturing business sales amounted to 53.6 billion KRW. The subsidiary 'Fresh Plus' supplied various food ingredients such as sauces and seasonings to food and distribution companies, while the R&D center focused on developing customized products for customers. Last year, the sauce-specialized factory located in Eumseong, Chungbuk, also began full-scale operations.

CJ Freshway plans to strengthen profitability by enhancing fundamental competitiveness in products and logistics while accelerating the creation of new markets. The company will increase the proportion of differentiated products such as private brands (PB) and diversify logistics services according to segmented customer needs to further advance business capabilities. Additionally, it will intensify efforts to maximize customer touchpoints through external platform linkage, segment the catering market, and pioneer new channels.

Im Seong-cheol, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of CJ Freshway, said, "Amid growing economic uncertainties, we will lead market industrialization by implementing a profitability-centered internal management strategy, discovering future growth engines, and strengthening fundamentals such as improving financial structure."