CJ CheilJedang’s Q3 OP up 5.1% on strong bio business

(CJ CheilJedang Corp.)

South Korean food giant CJ CheilJedang Corp. announced on Tuesday that its third-quarter 2024 operating profit was up by more than 5 percent from a year ago thanks to strong overseas sales and bio business.

The company disclosed that its operating profit stood at 416.2 billion won ($297.17 million) for the third quarter, up 5.1 percent from the same period a year ago.

Sales came to 7.41 trillion won in the July-September period, down 0.4 percent on year. Net profit fell 8 percent to 212.2 billion won.

When excluding the earnings of its subsidiary CJ Logistics Corp., CJ CheilJedang’s operating profit rose 0.4 percent to 276.4 billion won. Sales dropped 1.1 percent to 4.62 trillion won.

The company’s food business segment raised 161.3 billion won in operating profit, down 31.1 percent from the same period a year ago, on sales of 2.97 trillion won, down 1.1 percent.

Overseas food business sales accounted for half at 1.4 trillion won. Sales in Europe, including Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands, rose by 40 percent and sales in Oceania rose 24 percent on the expansion of large retail chains.

In North America, sales of core products such as dumplings and pizza increased by 14 percent and 11 percent, respectively, with Bibigo dumplings achieving 33 percent growth from January to September 2024.

However, its domestic food business struggled amid sluggish demand and cost pressures.

The bio business, in the meantime, saw sales rise by 1.1 percent to 1.07 trillion won. Its operating profit surged by 74.9 percent to 82.4 billion won, driven by increased sales of high-profit products such as tryptophan and feed-grade arginine.

Sales of high-value amino acids like valine, isoleucine, and histidine accounted for 22 percent of total sales.

CJ Feed&Care Co., an independent feed and livestock subsidiary, posted sales of 578.9 billion won and an operating profit of 32.7 billion won.

“We plan to enhance the brand recognition of Bibigo through various global content collaborations and accelerate global business expansion in the fourth quarter,” a CJ CheilJedang official said.

“In the bio segment, we aim to explore new demand for TasteNrich, which leads the premium seasoning market, and advance our product lineup,” the official added.