"Earned 500 Million Won in Three Months from Samsung Electronics"... Cash-Rich Samyang Foods' Stock Investment Revealed

Invested Around 600 Million Won,
Book Value Reaches 1.06 Billion Won by End of First Half

Samyang Foods invested in Samsung Electronics in the first half of this year, earning nearly 500 million won in profit within three months. As global demand for Buldak Bokkeum Myun surged and overseas sales soared, Samyang Foods' cash holdings grew rapidly, prompting the company to invest in highly profitable listed stocks.

According to industry sources on August 18, Samyang Foods purchased 3,188 shares of Samsung Electronics on March 6 for 599.95 million won, equivalent to around 188,000 won per share. As of June 30, the end of the first half, these shares were valued at 1.06479 billion won in the books—a 77.5% increase in just three months. A representative from Samyang Foods explained, "This was a simple investment using available cash reserves."

Yonhap News Agency

Samsung Electronics’ share price rose from a closing price of 188,200 won on March 6 to 334,000 won on June 30. Since then, in the second half, it closed at 274,500 won on August 14, marking a 17.8% decline compared to the end of the first half. Accordingly, the value of Samyang Foods’ holdings in Samsung Electronics is likely to have decreased as well.

In addition to Samsung Electronics, Samyang Foods also acquired shares in Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Corporation at the same time. The company bought 1,103 shares of Hyundai Motor Company for 599.61 million won and 3,645 shares of Kia Corporation for 606.05 million won. As of June 30, the book value of Hyundai Motor Company shares held by Samyang Foods decreased by 8.9% to 545.99 million won, and Kia Corporation shares dropped by 17.0% to 530.01 million won compared to the purchase dates. Samyang Foods also purchased about 600 million won worth of Korea Financial Holdings shares in March but sold its entire holdings before the end of June, earning a profit of 19.32 million won in the process.

Samyang Foods is rapidly accumulating cash-equivalent assets on the back of strong Buldak sales in global markets. At the end of the first half of this year, the company had cash and cash equivalents totaling 630.6 billion won, an 89.5% increase compared to the end of the previous year. Samyang Foods' cash and cash equivalents rose from 96.9 billion won in 2022 to 218.7 billion won in 2023, and further to 334.8 billion won in 2024.

Meanwhile, in the second quarter (April to June), Samyang Foods surpassed 600 billion won in overseas sales for the first time, setting a record for its highest-ever performance. On a consolidated basis, sales were 770.3 billion won and operating profit was 176.2 billion won in the second quarter, representing year-on-year increases of 39.3% and 46.7%, respectively. On a cumulative basis for the first half, revenue soared by 37.2% year-on-year to 1.4847 trillion won, and operating profit increased by 39.0% to 353.3 billion won. The operating margin stood at 22.9% in the second quarter, maintaining the 20% range for six consecutive quarters since the first quarter of last year.

This growth in performance was driven by overseas business. Second-quarter overseas sales reached 645.8 billion won, a 46.7% increase year-on-year, marking the first time quarterly overseas sales exceeded 600 billion won. In the Americas, sales grew 54% year-on-year to 203.6 billion won. The European subsidiary generated 80.6 billion won, up 61%, on strong sales in Germany and France, while the China subsidiary recorded 181.0 billion won, a 44% increase.

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