HiteJinro Reports Operating Profit of 123.9 Billion KRW Last Year, Down 35% Year-on-Year

Cost Increase Due to Raw Material Price Hikes and New Product Launches

HiteJinro announced on the 29th that its consolidated operating profit for last year was 123.9 billion KRW, a 35.0% decrease compared to the previous year. Sales increased by 0.9% to 2,520.44176 billion KRW, while net profit for the period decreased by 59.1% to 35.5327 billion KRW.

A HiteJinro representative explained, "Operating profit declined last year due to pressure from rising raw material prices and increased costs from new product launches," adding, "It was also difficult to achieve external growth due to the contraction of the liquor market." Nevertheless, the representative noted, "Sales performed well thanks to the market stabilization of the new product Kelly," and added, "Overall performance improvement is expected this year."

Earlier, at the beginning of last year, the price of ethanol, the main raw material for soju, increased by 10.6%, and bottle prices rose by 21.6%, leading to higher raw material costs. However, HiteJinro partially raised liquor prices starting in November.

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