Hanwha Aerospace, Korea’s leading defense company, reported a record third-quarter operating profit of 856.4 billion won ($600 million) on Monday, underscoring the firm’s growing global presence in the defense and shipbuilding sectors.
Operating profit surged 79 percent from a year earlier, while sales jumped 147 percent to 6.49 trillion won, marking the highest quarterly performance in the company’s history. The robust earnings were led by Hanwha’s land defense business and its shipbuilding unit Hanwha Ocean, which posted profits of 572.6 billion won and 289.8 billion won, respectively.
“The third-quarter results were driven by a well-balanced defense portfolio across both domestic and international markets,” a Hanwha Aerospace official said. “Building on synergies among subsidiaries such as Hanwha Systems and Hanwha Ocean, we plan to secure additional contracts in North America, Europe and the Middle East during the fourth quarter.”
Hanwha’s strong momentum is supported by a growing export order backlog. Of its total 31 trillion won backlog, about 70 percent comes from overseas contracts — a segment that typically yields higher margins than domestic sales. The company expects its financial performance to continue improving through 2029 as these international orders are progressively fulfilled.
Hanwha also anticipates maintaining a steady backlog equivalent to four to five years of full production, reflecting sustained global demand for its flagship products such as the K9 self-propelled howitzer, K10 ammunition resupply vehicle, guided missile systems and air defense platforms.
To meet this demand, Hanwha is expanding its overseas production capacity. Construction of a new facility in Romania is slated to begin as early as late 2025, under a 1.4 trillion won deal to supply 54 K9 howitzers and 36 K10 vehicles. The plant may also serve future projects, including Romania’s 3 billion euro ($3.45 billion) armored vehicle program, with final decisions expected in 2026.
The company is further exploring global production of modular charge system ammunition to meet surging demand in the US and Europe. “Ammunition demand is rising rapidly, and we’ve begun initial site selection for potential local plants in those regions,” a Hanwha official said.
forestjs@heraldcorp.com
