ORION announced on the 15th that it recorded consolidated sales of 801.8 billion won and operating profit of 131.4 billion won in the first quarter of this year. Compared to the same period last year, sales increased by 7.1%, and operating profit rose by 5%.
The Korean corporation recorded sales of 282.4 billion won, a 4% growth, and an operating profit of 46.3 billion won, a 5.6% increase. Domestic sales were limited to a 1.6% increase due to continued sluggish consumption and the ongoing closure of retail outlets such as supermarkets. However, exports surged by 23%, driven by demand in the United States, contributing to the Korean corporation's growth. Operating profit increased thanks to efforts to expand export volumes and reduce expenses.
Among the overseas subsidiaries, the Chinese subsidiary recorded sales of 328.2 billion won, a 7.1% growth, due to expanded sales in high-growth channels such as snack bars and e-commerce. Operating profit increased by 3.2% to 56 billion won.
The Vietnamese subsidiary recorded sales of 128.3 billion won, an 8.5% growth. Operating profit was 21.2 billion won, an increase of 9.2%.
An ORION official noted, "This second half of the year, we plan to complete the new factory building at the Hanoi Yen Phong factory and sequentially increase production lines for snacks, candies, pies, and jellies to expand our product supply capacity." In particular, due to rising local demand, rice snacks have seen production line operating rates reach 100%, prompting plans to add two more lines, along with increased exports to neighboring countries such as Indonesia and the Philippines.
The Russian subsidiary achieved sales of 67.2 billion won, a 33% increase, as it expanded supply volumes to key sales channels such as X5, the largest local distributor, amid a production line operating rate exceeding 140% for Chocopie. Operating profit rose by 9.2% to 8.6 billion won due to increased manufacturing cost burdens.
LigaChem Biosciences, a subsidiary acquired last March, recorded a net profit that increased by 181% to 26.5 billion won as another transfer of technology to Ono Pharmaceutical was added last October. Accordingly, an equity gain of 5.2 billion won was reflected.
ORION Holdings saw its business company, ORION, double its dividends from 1,250 won per share to 2,500 won during a shareholders' meeting in March this year, expanding dividend income. Additionally, due to robust performances by ORION's overseas subsidiaries in China, Vietnam, and Russia, royalty income increased, leading to a 134% growth in operating profit to 46.8 billion won.