Improved Aviation, Retail, and Chemical Earnings... Aekyung Group Sees a "Springboard for a New Leap"

Jeju Air Returns to Profit After Five Quarters
Retail Division Also Posts Annual Profit
Aekyung Chemical Focuses on Business Restructuring and New Businesses

Aekyung Group announced on February 11 that its performance has recovered across major affiliates including aviation, retail, and chemicals through improvements in its financial structure and a reorganization of its business portfolio.

Jeju Air posted an operating profit of 18.6 billion won in the fourth quarter of last year, successfully returning to the black for the first time in five quarters. The company analyzed that its performance improved thanks to structural enhancements achieved by increasing the proportion of next-generation aircraft.

Aekyung Group building. Photo by Aekyung Group

In the fourth quarter of last year, Jeju Air introduced two next-generation aircraft and returned one existing aircraft, thereby lowering the average fleet age and achieving fuel cost savings. This year, the company plans to introduce seven additional next-generation aircraft and expand investment in safety management and improvements to its flight operation infrastructure.

The retail division, including AK Plaza and Mapo Aekyung Town, also recorded an annual profit. AK Plaza plans to focus on strengthening competitiveness and building a foundation for mid- to long-term growth. It will revamp the product lineup at key stores such as the Suwon and Bundang branches and improve operational efficiency.

Aekyung Chemical is focusing on transforming its business structure and building a foundation for new businesses to secure mid- to long-term growth engines. Next month, it will complete construction of localization facilities for TPC (Terephthaloyl Chloride), an aramid raw material that had been entirely dependent on imports, and begin mass production with an annual capacity of 15,000 tons.

The company has also developed biomass-based hard carbon for sodium-ion batteries and has been continuously improving its performance. It is currently expanding facilities at its Jeonju plant to an annual capacity of 1,300 tons to support large-scale pilot testing by customers. Going forward, it plans to gradually expand capacity to 20,000 tons in line with market conditions and demand.

An Aekyung Group official said, "Jeju Air and the retail division have entered a recovery phase through intensive structural reforms and efficiency improvements, while Aekyung Chemical is laying the technological foundation for future growth." The official added, "Now that we have secured financial stability, we will actively respond to the restructuring of the aviation market through the sale of non-core assets such as Therme Den, while accelerating the promotion of new chemical businesses."

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