The Advancing Big-4 Defense Companies to Achieve KRW 4 Trillion in Operating Profit This Year

KRW 3.5 trillion by the third quarter… 44% up from last year
“Export expansion… growth will continue for 2~3 years.”

The four largest domestic defense companies expect to exceed KRW 4 trillion in annual operating profit this year. Their combined operating profit for the 3rd quarter of 2025 (from July to September) reached KRW 3.49 trillion, already surpassing last year’s annual performance by over KRW 1 trillion.
According to each company’s disclosures, the four largest domestic defense companies — Hanwha Aerospace, Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), Hyundai Rotem, and LIG Nex1 — have earned a cumulative operating profit of KRW 3.49 trillion through the 3rd quarter. This surpasses last year’s combined operating profit of KRW 2.4182 trillion by 44.4%, and with just 3 months left until the end of the year, their combined operating profit is likely to exceed KRW 4 trillion.

By company, Hanwha Aerospace posted operating profit of KRW 2.2817 trillion from January to September, accounting for 65% of total profits. Hyundai Rotem followed with KRW 738.2 billion, LIG Nex1 with KRW 280.8 billion, and KAI with KRW 192.2 billion.

Hanwha Aerospace achieved KRW 10 trillion in sales and KRW 1 trillion in operating profit last year for the first time in the Korean defense industry and is expected to exceed KRW 20 trillion in sales and KRW 2 trillion in operating profit this year. Hyundai Rotem’s cumulative operating profit in the third quarter also exceeded the last year’s annual performance, KRW 456.6 billion) by 61%, thanks to large-scale overseas orders including the second export contract for the Polish K2 tank.
With these companies’ defense industry orders backlog reaching KRW 118 trillion, forecasts suggest that growth will continue for the next 2~3 years.

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