Seoul: Hanwha Ocean Co. reported a 7 percent decline in its fourth-quarter net profit due to one-off costs, despite seeing a significant increase in net profit for the full year of 2025.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Hanwha Ocean's net profit for the October-December period amounted to 539.1 billion won (US$371.7 million), a drop from 579.5 billion won in the same quarter of the previous year. The company's operating profit, however, rose by 11.8 percent year-on-year to 189 billion won, while sales saw a slight decrease of 0.8 percent, totaling 3.22 trillion won.
The earnings figures surpassed market expectations, as analysts had averaged a net profit estimate of 285.3 billion won based on a survey conducted by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data division of Yonhap News Agency. The quarterly profit decrease was primarily attributed to one-off costs, including performance bonuses paid to both directly employed workers and partner-company employees, along with other labor-related expenses.
For the full year of 2025, Hanwha Ocean's net profit reached 1.17 trillion won, marking a 122 percent increase from the previous year. The operating profit soared by 366 percent to 1.11 trillion won, achieving an annual operating profit of more than 1 trillion won for the first time since 2018. The company credited the substantial improvement in operating profit to a strategic focus on profitability-centered orders, productivity enhancements, and ongoing cost-cutting measures.
Hanwha Ocean anticipates that favorable market conditions will persist throughout the year, driven by a continued high-price environment for liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers. In pursuit of the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project (CPSP), Hanwha Ocean revealed during an earnings call that it has proposed delivering four submarines by 2035, emphasizing Canada's priority for rapid delivery. The company has been shortlisted for this significant defense project alongside Germany's Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS).
The CPSP aims to introduce up to 12 submarines in the 3,000-ton class, with an estimated value of 60 trillion won, and includes lifetime maintenance and support. Hanwha Ocean is working closely with the South Korean government to achieve optimal results, aligning efforts with the Canadian government's offset requirements for selecting the submarine program's winner. These offset requirements necessitate sellers to provide industrial benefits, such as technology transfers, to the purchasing country as part of a defense contract.