Hanwha Aerospace cuts capital raise, stock jumps on investor relief
Defense firm pledges shareholder value, dismisses succession rumors
Hanwha Aerospace has come up with a revised plan to raise 2.3 trillion won ($1.56 billion) through a rights offering, looking to dismiss allegations that the Korean defense company is attempting to use the paid-in capital increase for the owner family's succession plan.
The company initially announced a plan to raise 3.6 trillion won through a stock sale on March 20 but faced backlash from regulators, shareholders and analysts as the plan was labeled as lacking enough information for investment decisions and communication with investors. The Financial Supervisory Service requested Hanwha Aerospace to submit an amended plan.
Hanwha said the new plan, which is 1.3 trillion won lower than the earlier filing, is expected to ease the burden on retail investors and remove concerns over a possible dilution of the existing shareholders' stock value.
As for the missing 1.3 trillion won financing needed for the company's global expansion roadmap, Hanwha said it is reviewing a plan to issue new shares to the conglomerate's three affiliates: Hanwha Energy, Hanwha Impact Partners and Hanwha Energy Singapore. The three sons of Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn hold a 100 percent stake in Hanwha Energy.
Hanwha Aerospace held a board meeting earlier in the day to decide that the price of the newly issued shares will be 539,000 won per share, down 15 percent from the previous price of 605,000 won per share. The subscription date for the new shares is scheduled for June 5. Unlike the 2.3 trillion won worth of shares to be issued to the public, Hanwha explained that the 1.3 trillion won allocated for its three affiliates will be subscribed without any discount
'We deeply reflected on the rights offering situation,' said An Byung-chul, head of Hanwha Aerospace's strategy office, during the press conference held at Hanwha Group's headquarters in Central Seoul.
'We will consider improving shareholder value as the most important virtue and put in effort to that end more than before… The rights offering is not at all related to (the owner family's) succession issue. Our vision is to become a top-tier global defense company.'
Hanwha reiterated the importance of carrying out preemptive investments to secure regional footing on the global stage with local production sites and expand partnerships as the international defense race is expected to continue heating up in the future. According to Janes Defense budget trends, global defense spending is forecast to reach approximately $2.9 trillion, a significant increase from about $2.2 trillion in 2022 when the Ukraine-Russia war began.
Hanwha also unveiled its annual earnings projections for this year with 30 trillion won in revenue and 3 trillion won in operating profit, citing favorable estimates of the exchange rate as the reason for the figures being higher than the market consensus. The firm also laid out an 11 trillion won investment plan through 2028 to ramp up not only its defense capabilities but also shipbuilding, maritime and energy businesses through related affiliates such as Hanwha Ocean.
Hanwha vowed to communicate better with the market and investors moving forward while aiming to increase dividends to enhance shareholder values.
The stock price of Hanwha Aerospace jumped on the news of the revised rights offering plan, trading at 699,000 won per share as of 2 p.m., up 8.88 percent from the previous day's market closing.
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