HD HYUNDAI Marine Solution CO.,LTD. (ZIM) Q3 FY2025 Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Good afternoon. This is Jeong-Hyuk Kim, CFO of HD Hyundai Marine Solutions. Thank you for joining us today for the third quarter 2025 earnings presentation. Joining me are Mr. Jang-ho Kim, Vice President of AM Solutions; Mr. San Min, Vice President of Retrofit Solutions; Mr. Hoo-Sik Park, Head of Digital Solutions; and Mr. Bong-Jun Choi, Head of Oceanwise. We will now begin with an overview of our consolidated results for the third quarter of 2025. Please refer to the presentation materials available on our website for more details. On Slide 4, I will summarize our third quarter 2025 results. Consolidated revenue for the quarter was KRW 513.2 billion, representing growth of 9.7% Q-o-Q and 11.3% Y-o-Y. Operating profit reached KRW 93.6 billion, up 12.8% Q-o-Q and 12.2% Y-o-Y. Our core businesses continue to drive performance, delivering record high quarterly revenue exceeding KRW 500 billion, and operating profit surpassing KRW 90 billion, marking a clear step-up in the overall scale of our quarterly results. Despite record high revenue, profit growth outpaced sales growth, resulting in an operating margin of 18.2% for the quarter. Further details will be discussed on the following page. On Slide 5, we present our performance by business segments. Of the company's third quarter consolidated revenue of KRW 513.2 billion, core businesses accounted for KRW 301.2 billion and Bunkering for KRW 212 billion. Both AM Solutions and Digital Solutions achieved record high quarterly revenue, driving core business sales above KRW 300 billion for the first time. This represents growth of 5.8% Q-o-Q and 7.5% Y-o-Y, demonstrating the continued structural growth momentum of our core businesses. Within AM Solutions, both our 2-Stroke and HiMSEN Engine businesses posted their highest ever quarterly results, underscoring the resilience and steady growth of our core operations. The Bunkering division also achieved a record high quarterly revenue, supported by increased better costs at our Singapore base despite limited oil price differentials compared with the previous quarter. On Slide 6, we present the revenue breakdown of our core businesses. Total core business revenue for the third quarter was KRW 301.2 billion, including KRW 244.4 billion from AM Solutions, KRW 33.5 billion from Retrofit Solutions and KRW 23.3 billion from Digital Solutions. AM Solutions recorded its highest ever quarterly revenue, growing 6.3% Q-o-Q and 11.5% Y-o-Y, reflecting continued solid performance. In Retrofit Solutions, revenue from second-generation retrofit projects continue to be recognized. While overall sales growth was relatively flat, we made meaningful progress in new orders. We'll explain this in more detail later. Digital Solutions experienced a temporary slowdown due to fewer operating days at shipping yard. However, following an internal organizational realignment, DT-related AM sales were incorporated into Digital Solutions results, allowing it to post record high revenue for the third consecutive quarter. Further details will be provided by ET Business Head shortly. On Slide 7, we review our operating profit performance. Operating profit for the third quarter was KRW 93.6 billion with an operating margin of 18.2% on a consolidated basis and 31.1% for core businesses. AM Solutions continued to deliver strong profitability, supported by the steady growth of our engine aftermarket sales. We expect this positive momentum to continue into the fourth quarter. Retrofit Solutions recorded a temporary margin adjustment due to the high base effect from the previous quarter. Profitability is expected to improve as sales recover. Digital Solutions achieved a sharp improvement in operating profit, driven by AM-related sales and cost efficiency following the full-scale commercialization of the shaft generator. On Slide 8, I will explain our nonoperating results and net profit for the quarter. Nonoperating income totaled KRW 11.3 billion, including KRW 3.7 billion in interest income, KRW 8.2 billion in foreign exchange gains and minus KRW 0.6 billion in other income. Income tax expense was KRW 25.1 billion, resulting in a net profit of KRW 79.8 billion for the third quarter. On Slide 9, I will cover our financial ratios and others. As of the end of the third quarter, our debt-to-equity ratio stood at 50.3%, and we maintained a net cash position of KRW 517.6 billion. Moving on to dividends. We have been implementing quarterly dividend payout -- payments since 2025. For the third quarter, the dividend has been set at KRW 700 per share, bringing the year-to-date total to KRW 2,100 per share. We plan to maintain a payout ratio of around 70% based on stand-alone net income, and we will consider an additional year-end dividend. Lastly, I'd like to announce the appointment of our new CEO. Effective October 17, Mr. Sung-joon Kim, President of HD KSOE, has been appointed as the CEO of HD Hyundai Marine Solutions. Mr. Kim is a technical expert in naval and ocean engineering. At HD KSOE, he served as Head of the Future Technology Institute, where he ran the development of next-generation ship technologies, including alternative fuel propulsion and energy saving systems. With his appointment, we aim to broaden our business scope as the world's only ship specialized MRO provider and further enhance our engineering competitiveness. This concludes my presentation. The following section will be presented by our business leaders, who will share updates on key sales highlights and market trends for the third quarter.

Good afternoon. This is Jang-Ho Kim, Vice President of AM Solutions. Let me talk you through the third quarter performance. Revenue for the quarter was KRW 244.4 billion, up 6.3% quarter-on-quarter and 11.5% year-on-year. This pushed our core business revenue over KRW 300 billion for the first time. Both our 2-Stroke and HiMSEN businesses set new quarterly records and the SmartCare warranty service also delivered its best performance. Altogether, these results show the solid and consistent growth of our AM business. About KRW 15 billion in bulk orders, which we mentioned in the last quarter, were recognized as revenue this quarter, further supporting the steady growth of the Engine segment. Turning to long-term service agreement. We finalized a 5-year contract for conventional MC engines in the third quarter. This was the one I mentioned during our second quarter presentation. The contract is especially meaningful because it covers an engine produced by HD Hyundai Marine Engines, not by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries. Through this agreement, we expanded our LTSA customer base to include Hyundai Marine Engine clients, proving that LTSAs provide real value in fleet management. Among the 4 LTSA projects set to expire in 2025, 2 have already been renewed and the other 2 are under discussions. We expect [indiscernible] liners for both. We are also in talks for 2026 expirations, as we continue to expand our long-term order portfolio through both liners and new agreements. Let me also briefly touch on SmartCare, our warranty program for ships delivered from HD Hyundai Shipping Yard. SmartCare handles warranty claims after vessel delivery and invoices shipping yard for the extra cost plus markup. With the continued strength of the newbuild market, the number of delivered vessels and engines has been steadily increasing. For vessels equipped with eco-friendly technologies, the warranty period extends to about 2 years, which is contributing to sustained growth in SmartCare revenue. This steady increase serves as a leading indicator of the expanding addressable market for our AM Solution businesses. Lastly, let me share an update on our Singapore logistics hub. We have completed the establishment of our local [indiscernible] to support hub operations and several key components are scheduled to be shipped to Singapore in the fourth quarter. We are also analyzing engine types of vessels calling at Singapore to optimize inventory ahead of operations. The pilot run is planned for early 2026, and we will make every effort to ensure smooth and timely ramp-up. Thank you.

Good afternoon. I'm San Min responsible for the retrofit business at HD Hyundai Marine Solutions. Let me share the latest update on our operations. During the third quarter, shipowners largely remained on the sidelines awaiting the IMO's midterm GHG measures to be finalized. As a result, new orders for carbon solutions were limited. In mid-October, the IMO decided to delay the final adoption of the global carbon levy by 1 year. This change means that implementation originally expected in 2027 with penalty enforcement by 2029 will likely be pushed back accordingly. While the time line has shifted, our commitment to strengthening technical readiness and project competitiveness remains unchanged. At the Gastech Exhibition held in Milan in September, we received approval in principle for our ammonia dual-fuel conversion technology, completing our lineup for LNG, methanol and ammonia dual-fuel retrofits. This milestone further strengthens our position in the global conversion market. Meanwhile, European regulations such as EU ETS and FuelEU Maritime continue to tighten, driving the need for more active compliance among vessels operating to and from Europe. In response, we are expanding our portfolio beyond large-scale retrofits to include midsized projects such as the iCER system for WinGD 2-stroke engine and methane slip solution for HiMSEN engines, leveraging engines produced by our group companies. We are focusing on items that can create captive market opportunities and build a stronger customer base. We aim to share tangible progress in these areas in the coming quarters. The Gas Solutions business continues to progress smoothly with LNG re-liquefaction retrofits proceeding as planned. In the third quarter, we completed 1 conversion project and 4 additional vessels are scheduled for completion in fourth quarter. Two remaining projects will be completed sequentially in 2026 and 2027. Driven by growing global demand for LNG, the FSRU and FSU conversion market are gaining strong momentum. During the third quarter, we achieved a meaningful milestone by securing our first ever FSRU conversion order. Reflecting this addition, our retrofit order backlog reached about USD 176 million at the end of the quarter. We are currently managing multiple new project opportunities and we will continue to work towards delivering visible progress in major project wins in the quarters ahead. Thank you.

Good afternoon. I'm Hoo-Sik Park, Vice President in charge of Digital Solutions business. Let me share the performance highlights for the third quarter of 2025. Digital Solutions posted sales of KRW 23.3 billion, marking the third consecutive quarter of record highlight result. For reference, full year revenue in 2024 was KRW 70.7 billion as in the third quarter. Year-to-date sales has already reached KRW 65.1 billion. Therefore, we expect annual growth to exceed 20% this year. At the end of third quarter, our order backlog stood at approximately USD 143 billion. Digital Solutions supplies product to newbuild shipping yard where steady demand has been supported consistent revenue generation. However, due to delay in new order from some yard, including HD Hyundai Mipo, the backlog at quarter end declined slightly compared to the previous period. For shaft generator, so far, order has been concentrated in LNG and LPG carriers, as the market for the new LNG product has been quiet. Additionally, larger scale orders have been limited. Recently, we've began to see stronger demand from containers and discussion with the China shipping yard are actively underway. We'll do our utmost to deliver more concrete results in the fourth quarter. At the same time, we continue to broaden our product lineup through AI-based HiCAMS intelligent CCTV and ECS control system for defense vessel. Our backlog currently, including 10 vessel [indiscernible] and our plan to further extend sales in special purpose and defense vessel market alongside our core mid-term business. Thank you.

Hello. This is Bong-Jun Choi, Vice President in charge of the OceanWise business. Let me share an update on our data platform initiatives. As of the end of September, OceanWise provides platform services for 546 vessels. In early September, we launched an integrated service with Weather News Japan, WNI, branded as OSROW, optimum ship routing with OceanWise, which is expected to significantly expand our market reach. We are currently in active discussions with multiple customers regarding adoption of the OSROW service. In addition, we have completed proof-of-concept testing of our integrated solution with Avikus Autonomous Navigation System, HiNAS, and have begun full-scale proposals to shipowners. We will continue to strengthen sales efforts to accelerate the commercial rollout of the OceanWise platform. In addition, OceanWise is broadening its scope beyond stand-alone operations by linking its platform with AM Solutions LTSA, actively exploring ways to create synergy with our existing businesses. For the remainder of 2025, our focus will be on scale-up of the OceanWise platform and advancing its technologies to further strengthen our competitiveness. Thank you.