Hanwha Group-owned Philly Shipyard in Philadelphia, Pa. / Courtesy of Hanwha Group
Shipbuilder makes 1st annual profit in 4 years
By Park Jae-hyuk
Hanwha Ocean expects to receive additional orders this year to repair U.S. naval vessels and to build new warships at its shipyard in Philadelphia. This comes as President Donald Trump returns to the White House, with a focus on strengthening U.S. control over the seas, among other priorities.
Amid the growing attention on its naval ship business, the shipbuilder also believes that the new U.S. president’s fossil fuel-friendly policies will also allow its commercial ship business to enjoy growing demand for carriers of liquefied natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas.
The company made the remarks on Friday, announcing its first annual operating profit in four years.
According to Hanwha Ocean, its operating profit reached 237.9 billion won ($166 million) in 2024, after posting 169 billion won in the fourth quarter of the same year. Its annual revenue rose 45.5 percent year-on-year to 10.8 trillion won.
The shipbuilder expressed an optimistic outlook for this year as well, expecting its ongoing talks with the U.S. Navy to lead to orders for the maintenance, repair and overhaul of five to six more warships. Hanwha Group Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan also introduced the shipbuilder’s capabilities to U.S. national security officials, during his participation in Trump’s inauguration in Washington.
“We plan to boost ties with NATO and other allies in the medium to long run,” said a Hanwha Ocean official in charge of its naval ship business.
The company mentioned the possibility of global shipping firms placing orders with Korean shipbuilders to reduce their reliance on Chinese shipyards, amid the looming U.S. sanctions on the world’s second-largest economy.
However, the shipbuilder’s offshore engineering division is bracing for potential negative impacts caused by Trump’s energy policies, which are hostile to the offshore wind power industry.
“We anticipate limited impacts in non-U.S. markets,” said an official in charge of Hanwha Ocean's offshore engineering business.
As a result of Hanwha Ocean’s earnings recovery, all three major shipbuilders in Korea will likely make annual operating profits for the first time in 13 years.
HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering announced on Thursday that its operating profit soared 408 percent to 1.4 trillion won last year, while its sales rose 19.9 percent to 25.5 trillion won. The parent company of HD Hyundai’s three shipyards returned to profitability in 2023.
Samsung Heavy Industries’ estimated annual operating profit and revenue were 472.1 billion won and 9.9 trillion won, respectively, up 102.3 percent and 23.3 percent from a year earlier, according to the consensus among domestic securities analysts.
English (United States) ·