SONGWON Industrial Group delivers a solid result for FY 2018

Publishing date: 07.03.2019

• Sales in 2018 totaled 788,738 Mil. KRW
• Net profit amounted to 37,805 Mil. KRW for the FY
• SONGWON maintained a gross profit margin of 19.8% in 2018 

SONGWON Industrial Group today released its financial results for FY2018. Sales continued to grow in Q4/2018 compared to Q4/2017 and contributed to the overall stable growth over the entire year. SONGWON’s overall consolidated sales revenues for FY 2018 totaled 788,738 Mil. KRW and marks an 8.8% increase over the previous year. 

Despite the challenging environment with global trade tensions as well as economic uncertainty continuing throughout the year, the demand for SONGWON’s products remained strong, and growth was recorded across all global regions, particularly in the Americas, Europe and the rest of Asia. However, SONGWON saw slightly less demand in Korea due to the generally weak economic outlook in the country and tight supply as well as pricing issues which negatively impacted sales in the region throughout 2018.

In contrast, polymer stabilizers (PS) saw steady sales in 2018, although the traditional customer destocking activities at the end of the year, unfavorable currency fluctuations, and higher raw material costs were predicted to have a negative effect on the product line. Sales were also up for SONGWON’s TPP business with polyester diols and polyurethanes also performing well.

In 2018, SONGWON successfully increased capacities at its world-class manufacturing facilities in Korea. The installation of new productions lines was also completed, and large-scale manufacturing of functional monomers was successfully initiated. During the year, the PS product portfolio was further strengthened, and the organization also continued the development and expansion of its specialty chemicals and fuel and lubricant additives product portfolios.

Looking ahead, SONGWON feels that political and trade uncertainties may lead to an economic slowdown in 2019. Nevertheless, although it is early to predict whether the situation will be temporary or more structural in nature at this point in time, SONGWON expects that the demand for its product offering will increase steadily across the regions in the medium term. Moving forward, the company will remain focused on building a world-class team, enhancing SONGWON’s innovative edge and strengthening the company’s overall ability to deliver specialty chemical products that match the needs of its broad customer base. By driving additional operating efficiencies and continuing to execute its key strategic growth initiatives with a cautious, prudent approach, SONGWON is confident that it can remain on track to achieve its long-term performance targets in the coming year.