Solid Operating Profit Driven by Food Affiliates
Sales Slightly Down Due to Weak Fisheries and Construction Sectors
Dongwon Group recorded solid results last year, supported by the growth of its food affiliates such as Dongwon F&B.
Dongwon Industrial, the holding company of Dongwon Group, announced on the 11th that its consolidated operating profit for last year was preliminarily estimated at 503.9 billion KRW, an 8.4% increase compared to the same period last year. During the same period, sales decreased slightly by 0.02% to 8.9464 trillion KRW.
A company representative explained, "Operating profit increased significantly due to the stable growth of Dongwon F&B, a comprehensive food affiliate covering food, catering, and seasoning, and the export expansion strategy of Dongwon Systems, a packaging and materials affiliate. However, sales slightly declined due to sluggish performance in the fisheries and construction sectors affected by falling fish prices and a downturn in the real estate market."
Dongwon Home Food contributed greatly to improved performance by showing strong growth in group catering and seasoning businesses, while Dongwon F&B saw stable growth in strategic products such as tuna sauce, holiday gift sets, and home meal replacements (HMR). On a consolidated basis, Dongwon F&B’s sales and operating profit last year were 4.4836 trillion KRW and 183.5 billion KRW, up 2.8% and 10.0%, respectively.
Dongwon Systems, a packaging and materials affiliate, also led performance improvement through its main packaging businesses such as flexible packaging and cans. In particular, operating profit grew by double digits, supported by exports focused on high value-added products such as pet food, retort pouches, and food cans. On a consolidated basis, last year’s sales increased by 4.5% to 1.3343 trillion KRW, and operating profit rose 13.7% to 91.9 billion KRW.
On a separate basis, Dongwon Industrial’s sales last year decreased by 1.0% year-on-year to 1.0794 trillion KRW, while operating profit increased by 1.4% to 128.6 billion KRW. Although production volume increased due to favorable catches, overall sales slightly declined due to falling fish prices. However, operating profit improved as the distribution sales division continued to grow through online channels.
Meanwhile, Dongwon Industrial’s consolidated net profit for last year was 115.8 billion KRW, down 57.4% compared to the same period last year. This was due to a civil lawsuit settlement payment of approximately 210 billion KRW reflected from StarKist, Dongwon Industrial’s U.S. subsidiary. Through a civil settlement last year, StarKist completely ended a decade-long tuna price-fixing dispute.
A Dongwon Group official said, "Last year was a year of strengthening our foundation through management efficiency. We will focus on reinforcing competitiveness in our core businesses such as fisheries, food, materials, and logistics, while also establishing new businesses such as secondary battery materials and smart ports."
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