With the return of the shipbuilding boom after several years, the performance of small and medium-sized shipbuilders has rebounded, leading investors to withdraw their funds.
On the 27th, Hanjin Heavy Industries announced that the equity stake of its second-largest shareholder, Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (hereinafter referred to as the Philippine bank), has fallen from 5.11% to 2.75%. The Philippine bank is estimated to have recovered about 14 billion won from this sale, following a similar sale in July. The stock price of Hanjin Heavy Industries, which was hovering around 2,000 won, recently rebounded to the 6,000 won range.
Hanjin Heavy Industries, the predecessor of Hanjin Heavy Industries, transitioned to creditor management in 2016 due to the poor performance of the Subic shipyard in the Philippines leading to the parent company's management difficulties. The Philippine bank held shares acquired during the conversion of debt related to the Subic shipyard. At the time of the conversion in 2019, the Philippine bank received 7,101,29 shares at 10,000 won each, amounting to approximately 71 billion won. Compared to the size held at the time of conversion, this represents a recovery of about 20%, indicating a need for rapid cash flow despite the loss period.
Hanjin Heavy Industries was acquired by a consortium consisting of Dongbu Construction and Korea Land Trust, named Ecoprime Marine Pacific (equity stake 66.85%), in 2021, and was transformed into Hanjin Heavy Industries. Following this, steady orders for container ships led to an operating profit of 32.9 billion won in the third quarter of this year, marking a return to profit compared to the same period last year.
K Shipbuilding replaced its management with personnel from UAMCO on the 20th. KHI Group, which had shared management as a co-shareholder, stepped back, and UAMCO, which had joined as a financial investor, is set to lead. UAMCO, which is effectively the largest shareholder, plans to increase the enterprise value of K Shipbuilding and aims to resell it as early as two years from now. At that time, it has been agreed to sell the KHI equity as well.
K Shipbuilding was acquired by STX in 2001 and renamed STX Shipbuilding and STX Shipbuilding Marine, entering creditor management in 2013. In 2018, it signed a conditional management normalization agreement based on a high-intensity self-rescue plan with its main creditor bank, the Industrial Bank of Korea. K Shipbuilding was transformed after being sold to the KHI consortium in 2021, and in the third quarter of this year, it recorded an operating profit of 4.5 billion won and a net profit of 1.9 billion won, reversing to profitability compared to the same period last year.
The Daehan Shipbuilding, managed by KHI Group, has set up a funding recovery strategy through an initial public offering (IPO). It has selected NH Investment & Securities, KB Securities, and Shin Young Securities as underwriters and is proceeding with IPO preparations, aiming for entry into the securities market in the second half of next year. Currently, KHI Group holds a high equity stake of 95% and is expected to recover its investment through the sale of existing shares.
Daehan Shipbuilding, which was under the management of Korea Development Bank, was acquired in 2022 by a consortium formed by Korea Investment Private Equity (Han투PE), a domestic private equity firm, and strategic investor KHI Group. Subsequently, Han투PE is set to recover all of its investments at an internal rate of return (IRR) of approximately 25% by this November. Daehan Shipbuilding reported an operating profit of 35.9 billion won and a net profit of 38.3 billion won last year, successfully returning to profitability compared to the previous year.