KAI (Korea Aerospace Industries) said Tuesday that it recorded consolidated revenue of 1 trillion 64.3 billion won and an operating profit of 79.4 billion won for the third quarter of this year.
These figures represent increases of 51.6% and 31.9%, respectively, compared to the same period last year. The operating profit margin rose to 7.5% in the third quarter, up from 6.1% in the first quarter and 4.1% in the second quarter this year. KAI explained that its performance improved as major domestic and international projects transitioned from the development phase to mass production and full-scale delivery of finished aircraft began.
Domestic business revenue reached 493.7 billion won, an 83% increase from the same period last year. The growth in revenue was driven by deliveries of fixed-wing finished aircraft, including the Korean fighter jet KF-21, which began deliveries to the Air Force in September after completing approximately 10 years and six months of development, and the FA-50GF trainer aircraft.
In the rotary-wing sector, domestic system development projects such as the Marine Attack Helicopter (MAH) and Mine Countermeasures Helicopter (MCH) contributed to performance. The Light Attack Helicopter (LAH) faced delivery delays due to engine supply issues, but deliveries are scheduled to resume from the fourth quarter.
Finished aircraft export revenue increased by 78% year-on-year to 291.4 billion won. Growth continued as overseas projects, including the FA-50M (Malaysia), FA-50PL (Poland), FA-50PH (Philippines), and KT-1B (Indonesia), were reflected in revenue according to their progress rates. Revenue from the civil aircraft structure business, which supplies airframe structures to major international commercial aircraft manufacturers, also rose 7% year-on-year to 262.8 billion won. Finished aircraft exports and civil aircraft structure exports accounted for 28% and 25% of total revenue, respectively, bringing the share of overseas exports to 53%.
As of the third quarter this year, KAI's cumulative order backlog stands at 26 trillion 285.5 billion won. KAI forecast that its performance growth will continue in the fourth quarter, driven by the full-scale mass production and delivery of the KF-21, the resumption of LAH deliveries, and FA-50M deliveries to Malaysia.
A KAI official said, "In the third quarter, both revenue and operating profit achieved double-digit growth year-on-year, based on strong finished aircraft exports and the transition of development projects to mass production." The official added, "We expect to maintain strong performance in the fourth quarter as well, based on key mass production and export projects such as the KF-21, FA-50, and LAH, making it possible to achieve an annual record-high revenue of over 5 trillion won."
in INDUSTRY
