Hanwha scion cements leadership as defense unit hits record earnings
Hanwha Aerospace has logged record sales year for two years in a row last year as the Korean defense firm's overseas sales surpassed domestic sales for the first time in the history of the company.
According to Hanwha Aerospace's regulatory filing on Monday, the company posted 11.25 trillion won ($7.74 billion) in revenue and 1.72 trillion won in operating profit in 2024, up 43 percent and 190 percent on year, respectively. With the record-breaking figures, Hanwha Aerospace also became the first Korean defense firm to surpass the yearly revenue of 10 trillion won and operating profit of 1 trillion won.
Hanwha Aerospace pointed out that its defense segment led the unprecedented numbers as it raked in about 7 trillion won in revenue and 1.57 trillion won in operating profit by selling various land defense systems such as the K9 self-propelled howitzer, multicaliber rocket artillery system Chunmoo and 120-milimeter self-propelled mortar system Skyfall.
The company turned in 4.83 trillion won in revenue and 892.5 billion won in operating profit in the fourth quarter of last year alone thanks to overseas exports and an increase in domestic deliveries.
Hanwha Aerospace underlined that its exports amounted to around 4.4 trillion won while its domestic sales reached 4 trillion won, highlighting the company's true leap into becoming a global company.
As Hanwha Aerospace's backlog for land defense systems stood at 32.4 trillion won at the end of last year, the company added that it expects its sales to continue growing this year as well.
Meanwhile, Hanwha Aerospace's board of directors has approved acquiring Hanwha Impact Partner's 5.0 percent stake and Hanwha Energy's 2.3 percent stake in Hanwha Ocean, the conglomerate's shipbuilding affiliate, at the price of some 1.3 trillion won.
With the stake buyout, Hanwha Aerospace will hold a 42 percent stake in Hanwha Ocean and solidifies its position as the biggest shareholder of the shipbuilding company. Hanwha Ocean has been gaining momentum due to growing anticipations over collaboration with the US' ailing shipbuilding industry and US President Donald Trump calling for Korea's cooperation in the shipbuilding sector.
As a result, Hanwha Group Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan, the eldest son of Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn, has bolstered his leadership and influence within the conglomerate as the vice chairman is in charge of the group's defense, aerospace and energy businesses.
'We were able to expand our portfolio to shipbuilding and maritime businesses with the stake acquisition on top of the existing business profile centered around land defense systems,' said a Hanwha Aerospace official.
"With this, we are presenting a vision to become a global total defense and shipbuilding company through a synergy with shipbuilding and maritime businesses that have a large long-term business potential.'
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