Dongwon Group corporate identity logo [Provided by Dongwon Group]
Dongwon Group corporate identity logo [Provided by Dongwon Group]

Dongwon Industries, the operating holding company of Dongwon Group, said Thursday its second-quarter consolidated operating profit rose 13.3 percent year-on-year to 151.5 billion won ($107 million).

Second-quarter sales reached 2.57 trillion won, up 9.0 percent from a year earlier. For the first half of the year, operating profit climbed 15.1 percent to 297.6 billion won, while sales grew 9.1 percent to 5.1 trillion won. On a standalone basis, first-half sales rose 9.1 percent to 632.2 billion won, with operating profit up 2.7 percent to 122.6 billion won.

Business-to-consumer food affiliates faced headwinds from a high exchange rate, rising input costs and sluggish domestic demand, but the group's overall earnings were driven by expanded sales channels in its business-to-business segments — food ingredient distribution, packaging materials and logistics — along with growth in exports.

Dongwon F&B, the group's B2C food affiliate, saw operating profit fall 7.2 percent year-on-year as accumulated cost pressures and intensifying competition in offline retail channels weighed on results. Dongwon Home Food, a B2B food ingredient distributor, posted solid earnings across all its businesses — including seasoning products, food ingredients, catering services and meat distribution — with new customer additions in food ingredients and catering proving particularly effective.

Dongwon Systems, the group's packaging affiliate, improved its earnings through expanded exports of high-value-added products such as its eco-friendly uni-material packaging, as well as growth at its overseas subsidiaries. Logistics affiliate Dongwon Loex also saw sales rise nearly 10 percent and operating profit grow by double digits, driven by new client acquisitions and improved transport efficiency.

"Even in a challenging business environment, we will continue to strengthen our fundamentals and build a stable operational foundation," a Dongwon Group official said.


siuu@heraldcorp.com