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Daewoo E&C posts record earnings on robust housing projects

By Shim Woo-hyun

Published : Jan. 31, 2023 - 16:39

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An exterior view of Daewoo E&C's headquarters in central Seoul. (Daewoo E&C) An exterior view of Daewoo E&C's headquarters in central Seoul. (Daewoo E&C)

Daewoo Engineering & Construction has posted an annual operating profit of 760 billion won ($617 million), an all-time high in the company’s history.

Daewoo E&C’s operating profit in 2022 was up 2.9 percent from the previous year’s 738.3 billion won, according to a regulatory filing released Tuesday.

Annual sales last year reached 10.4 trillion won, up 20 percent from 8.6 trillion won in 2021. The construction company also reported that its 2022 net profit reached 508 billion won, up 4.8 percent from the 484.9 billion won a year earlier.

Sales in its real estate business hit 6.3 trillion won, accounting for 61 percent of all sales. Its engineering business posted 1.8 trillion won, while the energy plant business made 1.4 trillion won in annual sales. The company’s subsidiaries, including THT Development in Vietnam, reported 716.9 billion won in annual sales.

An official from Daewoo E&C attributed the sales boost due to “solid growth of its housing business," despite facing economic challenges, including high interest rates, rising raw material prices and increased outsourcing costs. Other contributing factors include the launches of overseas engineering and construction projects in Iraq and Nigeria, the firm added.

In 2022, Daewoo E&C secured 14.1 trillion-won worth of construction orders, surpassing its 12.2 trillion won target. The company's order backlog reached 45 trillion won as of 2022, up 8.3 percent from the previous year, the company added.

Meanwhile, Daewoo E&C expected sales this year to come to 10.9 trillion won, with the help of new deals worth 12.3 trillion won.

The company expects to hit the target this year as “sales will be generated from large-sized construction and engineering projects, in addition to a supply of 18,279 housing units.”

Daewoo E&C was also optimistic about its prospects of signing additional deals this year, such as those under the GTX-B project, the second of three express regional railway lines that will connect Seoul to surrounding cities.