Dongwon Industries, the business holding company of Dongwon Group, announced on November 7 that its consolidated operating profit for the third quarter was 148.1 billion won, down 15.1% from the same period last year. During the same period, sales reached 2.5865 trillion won, marking a 10.6% increase year-on-year.
The company explained, "Key business segments such as seafood and packaging materials inevitably saw a decline in third-quarter profitability due to increased raw material costs resulting from the high exchange rate, as well as higher base wages."
The cumulative operating profit for the first three quarters of this year was provisionally tallied at 406.6 billion won, a 10.1% increase compared to the same period last year. Sales during this period grew by 8.0% to 7.2644 trillion won.
Dongwon F&B, the group's food division affiliate, recorded a 20% year-on-year increase in exports. This growth was driven by a balanced performance across strategic products, including Dongwon Tuna promoted by BTS member Jin, as well as convenient foods such as tteokbokki, seaweed, and kimchi, plus pet food and beverages. In the domestic market, seasonings (tuna extract), dairy products, and bottled water showed stable growth, while online sales channels expanded by more than 15%.
Dongwon Home Food achieved both growth and improved profitability, with all business segments-including seasoned foods, food ingredients, food service, and livestock distribution-posting strong results, resulting in increases in both sales and operating profit. The seasoned foods segment saw rapid growth in both B2C and B2B channels, while food ingredient and livestock distribution businesses achieved double-digit sales growth by securing new clients. In addition, a continued focus on profitability-driven sales strategies led to an increase in operating profit of over 30%.
On a standalone basis, Dongwon Industries posted cumulative third-quarter sales of 828.3 billion won and operating profit of 138.3 billion won, up 2.2% and 33.9% year-on-year, respectively. Although catch volumes decreased, sales saw a slight uptick thanks to increased sales of premium products such as sashimi-grade tuna, and profitability improved due to cost-cutting efforts.
Dongwon Systems, the group's packaging affiliate, drove results by expanding exports of flexible packaging materials to the United States, Canada, and other markets. In the materials segment, the proportion of high value-added products such as pet food and retort pouches increased, with exports accounting for more than 40% of total sales. However, operating profit declined due to rising raw material prices, including aluminum, and higher base wages. On a consolidated basis, Dongwon Systems' cumulative third-quarter sales were 1.0595 trillion won, up 5.7% year-on-year, while operating profit fell 21.3% to 58.7 billion won.
A Dongwon Group representative stated, "Despite a decline in third-quarter profitability due to ongoing challenges such as domestic and global economic downturns, high exchange rates, and raw material cost pressures, we continue to deliver solid results. We will strengthen our global business in food and materials, and focus on discovering new business opportunities to build a sustainable growth structure."
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