Dongwon Industries, the holding company of Dongwon Group, said on the 11th that on a consolidation basis, last year's operating profit was 515.6 billion won, up 2.9% from a year earlier. Revenue rose 7.2% to 9.5837 trillion won.
Dongwon Industries said Dongwon F&B, an affiliate in the food institutional sector, saw standout growth in global exports. U.S. exports of Dongwon Tuna, fronted by BTS member Jin as its model, increased by about 30%, and HMR (home meal replacement), pet food, and beverages also grew across the board, pushing total exports up more than 15% from a year earlier. In the domestic market, sales of the seasoned sauce (tuna extract) rose more than 40%, and online channels increased by more than 10%.
Dongwon Home Food posted increases in both revenue and operating profit across all businesses, including seasoned foods, food ingredients, food service, and livestock distribution. The food ingredients and livestock distribution business recorded double-digit or higher revenue growth by securing new clients, and the seasoning business showed continued growth in B2B (business-to-business) demand as well as through B2C (business-to-consumer) channels.
Dongwon Systems, an affiliate in packaging and materials, saw revenue growth driven by expanded exports of flexible packaging. In particular, Dongwon Industries said expanded exports of high value-added products such as pet food and retort pouches played a key role. However, operating profit declined due to rising raw material prices including aluminum, a strong dollar, and a contraction in downstream markets. On a consolidation basis, last year's revenue rose 2.9% to 1.3729 trillion won, while operating profit fell 28.0% to 66.2 billion won.
A Dongwon Group official said, "This year, as last year, the business environment is expected to be challenging due to factors such as a strong dollar and rising raw material costs," and added, "To overcome these conditions, we will strengthen global expansion across all business lines while working to bear fruit in new businesses such as smart ports and secondary battery materials."
Meanwhile, Dongwon Industries, at a board meeting held on the day, set the year-end settlement of account dividends at 600 won per share. Following the company's first-ever interim dividends (550 won per share) last year, it plans to pay year-end dividends at an amount higher than the interim dividends. It also decided to cancel in full its treasury shares (7,137 shares) generated through a comprehensive stock exchange and a bonus issue last year, among other steps to enhance shareholder value.