Daewoo Engineering & Construction's headquarters in Euljiro, Seoul [Daewoo Engineering & Construction]
Daewoo Engineering & Construction's headquarters in Euljiro, Seoul [Daewoo Engineering & Construction]

Daewoo Engineering & Construction said Tuesday its consolidated first-half sales reached 3.99 trillion won ($2.79 billion), with operating profit at 487.9 billion won and net profit for the period at 363 billion won. The company also raised its full-year new-order target from 18 trillion won to 27 trillion won.

In a regulatory filing released Tuesday, first-half sales of 3.99 trillion won fell 8.2 percent from 4.35 trillion won in the same period last year. By business segment, the building division led with 2.67 trillion won in sales, followed by the civil engineering division at 743.3 billion won, the plant division at 511.5 billion won and other consolidated subsidiaries at 74.5 billion won.

Operating profit surged 109.0 percent to 487.9 billion won from 233.5 billion won a year earlier. Net profit for the period rose sharply to 363 billion won from 15 billion won in the same period last year.

"Sales declined somewhat as the number of active project sites decreased, but operating profit rose sharply thanks to stabilized cost ratios and improved profitability in the building division," a company official said. "The operating profit margin more than doubled, rising from 5.4 percent to 12.2 percent year on year, marking a significant improvement in profitability."

New orders in the first half totaled 7.13 trillion won, up 22.4 percent from 5.82 trillion won a year earlier, driven primarily by domestic building projects — including the Seongnam Sinheung District 3 redevelopment at 1.27 trillion won, a residential housing project in Cheonan's Seongjong-dong at 414.3 billion won and the Seongnam Third Pangyo Techno Valley at 383.7 billion won.

The order backlog at the end of the first half stood at 53.4 trillion won, representing approximately 6.6 years of work based on annual sales.

Alongside the earnings announcement, Daewoo Engineering & Construction said it was sharply raising its full-year new-order guidance from 18 trillion won to 27 trillion won.

The company plans to expand in domestic and overseas markets by leveraging its competitiveness in nuclear power plant and LNG construction, while pursuing quality growth that balances scale and financial soundness. It intends to diversify its project portfolio by increasing the share of future energy infrastructure work and strengthening its presence in high-value sectors such as overseas urban development, data centers and urban renewal.

"We raised our new-order target as the prospects for securing large projects — including the Papua New Guinea LNG and Mozambique Rovuma LNG projects — have become more concrete," a company official said. "We will do our utmost to exceed this year's targets through quality order expansion and thorough risk management."

Meanwhile, Daewoo Engineering & Construction has been pushing ahead with its "Hyper E&C" management vision for the year, accelerating efforts to strengthen future competitiveness including smart construction capabilities.


lucky@heraldcorp.com