Noroo Paint(090350) posted an operating profit of 32.28 billion won in the first half of this year. That was up 72.1% from the same period a year earlier.
Noroo Paint said on the 14th that, on a consolidation basis, first-half sales came to 406.159 billion won and operating profit to 32.28 billion won.
The sales growth rate was limited to 2.4%, but operating profit rose more than 70%. Net profit surged 179.3% from 9.1 billion won to 25.4 billion won. The operating margin climbed 3.3 percentage points from 4.7% to 8.0%.
Higher selling prices for architectural and industrial paints and a greater share of high value-added products drove the results. The company passed along rises in materials and supplies costs to product prices and increased sales of products with high profitability. Although the sales increase was not large, profitability improved as the gap widened between selling prices and costs.
In the first half, external customer sales in the architectural and industrial paints segment were 324.9 billion won, up 1.5% from a year earlier. Operating profit jumped 142.7% from 9.8 billion won to 23.7 billion won. The segment's operating margin also rose from about 3.0% to 7.3%.
The pre-coated metal (PCM) paint segment, used for appliance exteriors and architectural color steel sheets, also maintained growth on the back of stable orders. Sales increased 6.2% to 81.2 billion won, while operating profit rose 4.2% to 8.9 billion won. Noroo Coil Coating secured 81.6 billion won in orders this year for paints and related products for color steel sheets, based on contracts.
External uncertainty will be a variable going forward. Noroo Paint said in its semiannual report, "Military tensions between the United States and Iran and uncertainty surrounding the Strait of Hormuz are increasing volatility in oil and naphtha prices."
The company is expected to accelerate efforts to penetrate high value-added overseas markets. It plans to establish a local subsidiary in Japan to build a base for direct contracts and revenue generation and to enter the advanced paint and high value-added materials markets. At the Farnborough Airshow in the United Kingdom, it unveiled an aerospace sealant.