Korea’s leading defense contractor Hanwha Aerospace on Thursday reported a record-high second-quarter revenue of 6.27 trillion won ($4.5 billion), marking a 169 percent increase compared to the same period last year.
Operating profit also surged 156 percent on-year to 864.4 billion won.
“The second quarter saw strong growth, driven by robust performance in the land defense sector and stable results from Hanwha Ocean,” a company official said.
“In the second half, we plan to expand our order book, with a focus on the Middle East and Europe while also advancing future growth engines following the successful fourth launch of the Nuri rocket.”
The land defense division posted 1.77 trillion won in revenue and 554.3 billion won in operating profit, up 43 percent and 113 percent on-year, respectively.
The company attributed the sharp profit increase to a combination of customer-requested delays in recognizing certain development and sales costs until the second half, and faster-than-expected production and delivery of Chunmoo, the self-propelled multiple rocket launch system, to Poland.
With 51 units delivered in the first half alone, Hanwha Aerospace raised its full-year delivery guidance from 50 to 80 units.
Its shipbuilding subsidiary Hanwha Ocean also contributed significantly, reporting 3.29 trillion won in revenue and 371.7 billion won in profit, led by strong demand for high-value liquefied natural gas carriers.
Separately, the company is exploring an initial entry into the US ammunition market, potentially using part of the 4.2 trillion won it secured through a recent rights offering.
However, it remains unclear whether this would be included in the Korean government’s $350 billion investment pledge to the US, announced as part of a tariff agreement on the same day, the company said.
Hanwha Aerospace added that it expects to be less impacted by the US tariff policy than other sectors like automobiles or steel, as much of the defense value chain is linked to countries such as the United Kingdom rather than directly to the US.
forestjs@heraldcorp.com
