Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) reported on the 7th that last year's performance included sales of 3.6337 trillion won and an operating profit of 240.7 billion won. This represents decreases of 4.9% and 2.7%, respectively, compared to the same period last year.
Looking specifically at the fourth quarter of last year, sales were 1.0948 trillion won, and operating profit was 42.1 billion won, reflecting declines of 27.5% and 72.7%, respectively, compared to the same period last year.
KAI noted that the slight decline in sales was attributed to "the stable progress of core development projects and the growth of the civilian sector, which resulted in increases of 8.3% and 5.6% year-over-year in the domestic business and airframe structure sectors, respectively. However, exports of finished aircraft decreased compared to the significant impact of delivering 12 FA-50GF units to Poland in 2023."
However, new orders last year increased by 5.73% compared to the previous year. KAI recorded its first export of the Surion model in the finished aircraft sector last year. In particular, in the airframe structure sector, a large-scale contract with Boeing contributed to a remarkable increase of 232.5% year-over-year, achieving 2.5848 trillion won. As of the end of last year, the backlog of orders was noted to be 24.7 trillion won, which is an increase of approximately 2.9 trillion won compared to 2023.
KAI set this year's guidance for orders and sales at 8.459 trillion won and 4.087 trillion won, reflecting increases of 72.6% and 13.6%, respectively, compared to last year's performance (separate basis). It also announced plans to expand investments to strengthen future business.
KAI stated it would continue to expand the export market for additional FA-50 exports and leverage the initial export effects of rotary-wing aircraft. Domestically, they plan to significantly expand order volumes, successfully pursuing the first production of 20 KF-21 units, along with orders for electronic warfare system development and the UH-60 performance upgrade project.
KAI expects sales to exceed 4 trillion won this year as the production of KF-21 and LAH units, as well as the Polish FA-50PL and Malaysian FA-50M versions, enters full swing. The airframe structure business is also projected to record sales nearing 1 trillion won, as recovery in the commercial aircraft market continues.
Kang Gu-young, CEO of KAI, said, "This year will be a year that proves KAI's success DNA through expanding domestic business areas and aggressively pioneering export markets based on the development technology infrastructure accumulated over the past 40 years."