Hanwha Aerospace has good year, net up 83.2%

Hanwha Aerospace's factory in Changwon, South Gyeongsang [HANWHA AEROSPACE]

Hanwha Aerospace, a Kospi-listed aircraft engine manufacturer, enjoyed double-digit growth in sales and profit last year as demand for jet engines rose.

The company said Friday that its net profit surged 83.2 percent to 301.8 billion won ($250.8 million) on year, a record and in line with market expectations. Operating profit came to 383 billion won, up 57.1 percent over a year ago, while sales jumped 20.6 percent to 6.4 trillion won. Both operating profit and sales were slightly above analyst predictions tracked by FnGuide.

Hanwha Aerospace attributed the solid performance to increased sales from its engine business following the reopening of transatlantic travel.

Hanwha Defense, a subsidiary, saw growing sales both at home and abroad. The unit won contracts in Egypt and Australia to supply its K9 Thunder howitzer last year and aims to further solidify its overseas sales in coming years.

The Changwon, South Gyeongsang-based unit also developed an engine for liquid-fuel rockets for the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-II (KSLV-2), also known as Nuri-ho, which was launched last October. The KSLV-2 made it to space, but failed to stay in its targeted orbit.

Looking forward, the company vowed a stable revenue stream from its aircraft engine and defense businesses.
“Hanwha Aerospace will maintain growth, helped by increasing sales in the defense business and business resumptions by airlines,” the company said in a statement.
“At the same time, we will continue to find new growth engines through investments in future mobility and the space business with our proven technical supremacy,” it said.

BY PARK EUN-JEE [park.eunjee@joongang.co.kr]