Strong Overseas Performance in China, Vietnam, and Russia Drives Orion's 18% Surge in First-Half Operating Profit

17.9% Increase in Operating Profit Year-on-Year at 298 Billion Won
Double-Digit Growth in Sales as Well
Expanding Investment in Production Facilities for Scaling Up
First-Ever Semiannual Dividend "Shareholder Returns to Be Further Enhanced"

Thanks to balanced growth in its overseas subsidiaries in China, Vietnam, and Russia, Orion posted double-digit growth in both sales and operating profit for the first half of the year.

According to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system on the 14th, Orion's consolidated operating profit for the first half reached 298 billion won, an increase of 17.9% compared to the same period last year. Sales for the same period grew by 15.5%, totaling 1.8239 trillion won.

Orion New Headquarters. Provided by Orion

Despite a challenging business environment, including rising energy costs, logistics expenses, and raw material prices due to the prolonged Middle East conflict between the United States and Iran, the company explained that, with the exception of its Korean subsidiary, overseas subsidiaries achieved double-digit growth in both sales and operating profit by expanding localized products and focusing on growth channels.

Specifically, in Korea, despite a decrease in the number of clients, sales increased by 1.7% compared to the same period last year to 583.4 billion won, but operating profit fell by 5.4% to 89.7 billion won due to rising manufacturing and selling and administrative expenses.

The Chinese subsidiary saw a continued rise in sales even after the biggest peak season, the Lunar New Year. Driven by the expansion of dedicated products in high-growth channels such as snack shops and increased sales of potato snacks, sales rose by 24.4% to 787.7 billion won while operating profit grew by 33.7% to 144.7 billion won.

The Vietnamese subsidiary, despite the surge in energy costs due to the Middle East conflict, saw sustained demand after the 'Tet' holiday, and boosted performance by launching new products such as rice crackers and introducing a limited-edition summer pie. As a result, sales grew 15.9% to 267.7 billion won, and operating profit increased 15.2% to 41 billion won.

The Russian subsidiary further strengthened its multi-product system, not only with Choco Pie but also with Watermelon Pie, Fresh Pie, Champungeoppang, Choco Mushroom, and jelly. It achieved a 32.1% increase in sales, totaling 195.5 billion won, and operating profit jumped 62.2% to reach 29.6 billion won.

Orion is also accelerating the expansion of its production infrastructure for sustainable growth. The company plans to promptly expand the production lines for major products where supply is lagging behind demand, and to establish new factories and logistics centers for each subsidiary, thereby enhancing global production capacity to the next level.

The Korean subsidiary is investing 460 billion won to construct the Jincheon Integrated Center, targeted for completion in the second half of next year. The Russian subsidiary, whose factory operation rate is over 100%, is also expediting the construction of the new Tver plant with a 240 billion won investment. In Vietnam, following the Hanoi Plant No.3 and Ho Chi Minh Plant No.4, a new Da Nang logistics center is being built, with plans to eventually ramp up annual production capacity to the 1 trillion won range. Additionally, the Chinese subsidiary is expanding the potato flake production line in Xianyang and building a dedicated snack factory in Langfang to reinforce the production base for its key growth category, potato snacks.

In the second half of the year, Orion plans to successively expand and operate the production lines for high-demand products: Poca Chips, Custard, and Nacho in Korea; Swing Chip in China; Champungeoppang in Russia; and Choco Pie and Custard in India.

Orion also announced the continued expansion of shareholder returns, including the implementation of quarterly dividends for the first time in its history, and revealed that it plans to steadily increase the dividend payout ratio in the future.

An Orion spokesperson stated, "With the full-scale operation of new production lines for snacks, pies, and jellies in Korea and abroad in the second half, and the gradual expansion of global production facilities, we expect growth will accelerate." The spokesperson added, "This will help brought forward the achievement of 5 trillion won in sales and 1 trillion won in operating profit."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.