Daedong Q1 Operating Profit 26.2 Billion KRW... 60.7% Increase YoY "All-Time High"

Sales Increased by 26.4% and Operating Profit by 60.7% Compared to the Same Period Last Year

Agricultural machinery company Daedong announced that it recorded its highest performance and largest export volume in the first quarter of this year since its founding. The photo shows Daedong's tractor HX series. Photo by Daedong

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] Agricultural machinery company Daedong announced that it recorded its highest-ever performance and export volume in the first quarter of this year.

On the 18th, Daedong disclosed that it achieved sales of 297.2 billion KRW and an operating profit of 26.2 billion KRW in the first quarter. Compared to the same period last year, sales increased by 26.4% and operating profit rose by 60.7%.

Based on separate first-quarter figures, domestic sales amounted to 101.2 billion KRW, overseas sales to 129.8 billion KRW, totaling 231 billion KRW in sales and 20.5 billion KRW in operating profit.

In the domestic market, despite the decline in the agricultural population, Daedong achieved over 100 billion KRW in sales for the first quarter for two consecutive years through high value-added products such as premium agricultural machinery with autonomous driving functions and the remote agricultural machinery management ‘Connect Service’. Regarding overseas exports, tailored product lineups for each market, products and services without shutdowns, and the brand power of KIOTI contributed to sales increases of 49.6% in North America, 121% in Europe, and 112% in Australia and other countries.

Daedong explained that despite the average KRW-USD exchange rate in the first quarter dropping 6.7% year-on-year to 1,114 KRW, it recorded sales of 129.8 billion KRW, a 57.7% increase from 82.3 billion KRW in the same period last year, and operating profit grew significantly due to balanced growth in global markets.

Previously, Daedong expanded into over 70 countries worldwide with its global agricultural machinery brand ‘KIOTI’. The company added that except for the 143.2 billion KRW export volume recorded in the second quarter of 2019 from the 100 million USD agricultural machinery export project to Angola, this is the first time quarterly exports have reached 100 million USD.

Daedong, which changed its company name last year, analyzed that improvements in organizational structure and management efficiency?such as enhancing corporate brand value, establishing a culture of communication and collaboration, and innovating production, logistics, sales, and after-sales service through Digital Transformation?have led to visible results.

Won Yoohyun, Daedong’s CEO, said, “By strengthening the organization’s structure and capabilities for future agriculture and enhancing responsiveness to overseas markets, we were able to achieve record-breaking performance in the first quarter following last year’s sales record of 895.7 billion KRW. We will increase domestic market share with premium products and services and write a new chapter in Daedong’s history by accelerating growth in major advanced agricultural machinery markets such as North America, Europe, and Oceania, where market prospects are bright.”

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