Seoul: Hanwha Aerospace Co., South Korea's leading defense company, announced a notable increase in its first-quarter operating profit, which surged nearly 21 percent from the previous year. This growth was primarily attributed to robust sales in its aerospace and shipbuilding units.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Hanwha Aerospace reported an operating profit of 638.9 billion won (US$429.7 million) for the January-March period, marking a 20.6 percent rise from 529.9 billion won a year earlier. The company's net income saw a dramatic increase of 187.5 percent, reaching 525.9 billion won, while revenue climbed 4.9 percent to 5.75 trillion won.

The results surpassed market expectations, with analysts estimating an average net profit of 395.2 billion won, as per a survey conducted by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency. The company's ground defense segment achieved 1.2 trillion won in sales and 208.7 billion won in operating profit, reflecting a 5 percent sales increase but a 31 percent decline in operating profit compared to the prior year.

An unprecedented order backlog of 39.7 trillion won was recorded, largely due to a contract to export the Chunmoo multiple rocket launcher system to Norway. In the aerospace sector, sales increased by 25 percent year-on-year to 661.2 billion won, while operating profit surged more than sixfold to 22.6 billion won, fueled by a rise in military orders.

Hanwha Ocean Co., the company's shipbuilding subsidiary, posted sales of 3.2 trillion won, a 2 percent increase from the previous year, and an impressive 71 percent rise in operating profit to 441.1 billion won. This growth was driven by increased sales of higher-value vessels and a favorable exchange rate due to a weaker local currency.

A company official stated, "We continued solid growth on favorable performance by the aerospace business and Hanwha Ocean. We will maximize shareholder value through consistent orders."