HiteJinro’s 2023 OP down 35% amid rising costs

[Courtesy of HiteJinro]

South Korea’s top liquor maker HiteJinro Co. saw its operating profit plunge by 35 percent in 2023 from a year ago due to rising raw material prices and expenses for new launches.

According to data from the Financial Supervisory Service on Monday, HiteJinro posted 123.9 billion won ($92.6 million) in operating profit in 2023, down 35 percent from 2022. Revenue reached 2.5 trillion won, up 0.9 percent during the same period.

The decline in the annual operating profit is due to the increases in selling, general & administrative (SG&A) expenses for new product launches and raw material prices.

HiteJinro did not disclose its fourth-quarter earnings separately but it is estimated to have raised $29.7 billion in operating profit on sales of 620.9 billion won. Operating profit is up 126.7 percent from the same period a year ago and sales is up 2 percent.

On Monday, SK biopharmaceuticals Co. also announced its 2023 earnings.

The company logged an operating loss of 37.1 billion won in 2023, narrowing by about one-third the loss incurred in the previous year. Sales reached 354.9 billion won, up 44.2 percent.

In the fourth quarter, SK biopharmaceuticals managed to swing to an operating profit of 152.1 billion won. Sales stood at 126.8 billion won, up 101.9 percent from the previous year’s fourth quarter.

Lotte Data Communication Co. announced 1.2 trillion won in sales for 2023, up 14.2 percent from a year ago, and 56.9 billion won in operating profit, up 66.3 percent.