Hanwha Aerospace’s Q4 earnings set to pile up... Poland alone: 30 K9 Thunder howitzers, 60 K239 Chunmoo launchers

[Financial News] Hanwha Aerospace’s land defense earnings will be concentrated in the fourth quarter. Poland alone is set to receive 30 K9 Thunder self-propelled howitzers and 60 K239 Chunmoo multiple rocket launcher launchers before the end of this year. Next year, the company will also restart its Daejeon plant, which has been shut down following an accident, and drive further growth.
On the 29th, Hanwha Aerospace released preliminary third-quarter results, reporting revenue of 6.0943 trillion won and operating profit of 452 billion won. Operating profit fell 46% from the same period last year, as the land defense division was affected by early deliveries to Poland in the second quarter and delivery delays.
Since the issue is the timing of deliveries, Hanwha Aerospace’s annual results are expected to remain on track. The second batch of K9 Thunder and Chunmoo systems for Poland is due to be delivered in the fourth quarter, while the K9 programs in Egypt and Australia are moving into full swing, making strong results all but certain.
Deliveries to Poland are expected to be somewhat higher than anticipated. Kim Cheol-hong, Hanwha Aerospace’s head of finance, said on a conference call that day, “We expect to deliver at least 30 K9s to Poland this year, and at least 60 Chunmoo launchers, up from the 40 estimated at the start of the year.”
Deliveries of equipment that will be recognized as revenue will continue next year. In the third quarter alone, the company signed an export implementation contract for the K9 with Spain’s Indra Sistemas in August, and its U.S. subsidiary, Hanwha Defense USA, Inc., signed a contract to supply prototypes for the U.S. Army’s next-generation Mobile Tactical Cannon (MTC) program. Last month, it signed a contract with Croatia to export 18 Chunmoo systems worth 640 billion won. The land defense order backlog stands at 35 trillion won, including mass production of the Arion-SMET multipurpose unmanned vehicle, which is scheduled to be fielded by the South Korean military.
In particular, an additional contract was signed for three MTC prototypes. “We recently signed an additional contract for three of the 12 optional units, on top of the initial supply of six prototypes,” Kim, the head of finance, said. “We will also participate, using the K9 platform, in the tracked self-propelled howitzer program that the U.S. Army is pursuing separately.”
To handle the incoming orders, Hanwha Aerospace plans to restart its Daejeon plant in the first half of next year. Even before then, it will expand production at other plants of the same products made at the Daejeon site.
In addition, its subsidiaries Hanwha Systems Co., Ltd. and Hanwha Ocean recorded operating profit surges of 60% and 68%, respectively. That is why Hanwha Aerospace says it will maintain its previously announced target of 15% revenue growth next year.

[email protected] Kim Yun-ho Reporter