Hanwha Aerospace Co., Ltd. (A012450) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Good afternoon. I am Han Sang Yun, the Head of IR with Hanwha Aerospace. First of all, I'd like to thank everyone for joining the call. Now I will brief you on the second quarter '24 performance of Hanwha Aerospace. Please refer to Pages 6 and 7 of the presentation. Consolidated sales for Q2 are KRW 2,786 billion, which is a 46% increase year-on-year and the operating profit was KRW 358.8 billion, which is more than fourfold increase year-on-year. Thanks to increase in export of Land Systems segment and strong performance of Hanwha Systems. Both sales and operating profit has grown year-on-year. The details will be explained in the performance by segment section. Pretax profit for Q2 is KRW 138.9 billion, and net profit is KRW 159.9 billion, which has declined by 59% and 47%, respectively, year-on-year. This is due to the base effect of onetime gain of valuation of derivatives worth about KRW 330 billion recorded in the same period last year in relation with the acquisition of Hanwha Ocean and also to bad debt expense related to the unconverted convertible bond of over air worth KRW 139.5 billion. Please turn to Page 8 for financials. Total assets are KRW 22,181.2 billion, and the total liabilities are KRW 17,354.5 billion, which have increased from the end of 2023 and the net debt-to-equity ratio has increased from that of the end of '23 at 65%. I will share with you the performance by segment. Please turn to Page 9 for Land Systems. Q2 sales are KRW 1,332.5 billion, which has grown by more than 2x year-on-year. Domestic sales are KRW 571.2 billion or 23% growth year-on-year and the overseas sales are KRW 761.4 billion, or over fivefold growth year-on-year. The operating profit is KRW 260.8 billion, recording the substantial year-on-year growth. Domestic sales have shown solid growth due to partial recognition of domestic mass production volume with better margin profile. As for the overseas sales, the export volume has increased significantly, including the 6 K9s and 18 tunnel for Poland and the FX impact further drove the performance. As was mentioned in the previous earnings call, the delivery to Poland had started in Q2. We expect that the Land Systems segment will continue to grow based upon the domestic delivery schedule. Please turn to Page 10 for Land Systems order backlog. As of the end of Q2, the Land Systems order backlog has grown from that at the end of last year to about KRW 30,300 billion, and this includes the K239 Chunmoo, multi-rocket launcher executive contract with Poland worth around KRW 2,300 billion, which was signed in April. Regarding new order taking, the company has selected as the final winner of the Romanian self-proposed gun project, which has been ongoing since last year. We have entered into the framework agreement worth around KRW 1,400 billion and the order will be reflected in the Q3 order backlog. With the Romanian contract, the K9 Thunder, will have reached a major milestone of being operational in 10 countries around the world, including the Republic of Korea. It is indeed a global bestseller with 6 out of the 10 users as NATO member countries. Please turn to Page 11 for performance of Aerospace segment. Q2 sales are KRW 562.4 billion or 40% growth year-on-year, and the operating profit is KRW 7.5 billion or 36% growth year-on-year. The volume has increased for both defense and LTA projects and the operating loss recorded from the GTF RSP smaller to have a positive impact on the performance overall. Regarding the number of aircraft delivery, 273 aircrafts were delivered during Q2 '24, which has declined from 325 of Q1 '23 and 276 of Q1 '22. As was the case in the previous quarter, this is believed to be associated with the U.S. affiliate limit on the number of aircrafts produced and also with the issues with the supply chain. With the delay in new aircraft delivery, the demand for aircraft maintenance, including engines, have increased in order to meet the explosive demand for aero travel. The growth in aircraft maintenance demand has increased the A/M or the aftermarket volume of engine parts, which contributed positively to shrinking operating loss associated with RSP during the second quarter. The operating loss from the GTF RSP during Q2 '24 is KRW 3 billion. The GTF engine sales continued to increase in the second quarter with 239 units compared to 200 in Q2 '23 and 141 in Q2 '22. Please turn to Page 12 for performance of Hanwha Vision. Q2 sales are KRW 315.9 billion or 11% growth year-on-year. The operating profit is KRW 38.9 billion or 15% decline year-on-year. The sales from the European market, especially driven by that of the U.K. have increased by 32% year-on-year and the Asian market sales by 28%. We have witnessed the sales growth in all major markets, including the main markets of the U.S. due to the base effect of the higher share of high profit products in the previous quarter and also due to the higher COGS and increased the development expense coming from the next-generation chipset and the cloud platform, the operating profit declined slightly from the same period last year. Still, the operating profit margin remained strong at around 12%. Hanwha Vision's strong performance is expected to continue in the second half of this year, especially around North America and European markets. Please turn to Page 13 for the performance of Hanwha Systems. The Q2 sales are KRW 687.3 billion, or more than 13% growth year-on-year. And the operating profit is KRW 79.8 billion or more than twofold increase year-on-year. As for the detailed performance, outlook and the progress of new businesses of Hanwha Systems, please refer to the earnings release of Hanwha Systems, which happened on July 30. Lastly, I will briefly share with you the performance of Hanwha Precision Machinery, and Satrec I, which are included in the others. During the second quarter, Hanwha Precision Machinery has recorded KRW 135.2 billion in sales and KRW 8.4 billion in operating loss. For Q2, Satrec I has recorded KRW 47.4 billion in sales and KRW 1.8 billion in operating loss. Next, let me share an announcement on the spin-off schedule. The extraordinary shareholders' meeting to be held on August 14, will decide on the spin-off. And the spin-off due date is September 1. The suspension period will start from August 29 and on September 26. Both the existing entities modified listing and Hanwha Industrial Solutions relisting will happen on September 27. This concludes the briefing and now we'll have the Q&A.

The first question is from KB Securities. I have a question about the Land Systems. Can you give us any further breakdown for the Land System sales, whether that be by country or by equipment? So you also mentioned during the briefing that the second half, the performance will continue to be strong. So can you share with us any more details? For example, from which country you expect a strong performance. And in the second quarter, the performance has improved quite significantly. Was there any variables that we need to take into consideration, in particular so that we have a better forecast for the Land Systems performance for the second half of this year? So the answer is, we have delivered 6 K9, and 18 Chunmoo during the second quarter. And we do so have sizable volumes that will be headed to Poland during the third and the fourth quarter. So in general, trend wise, the third quarter volume will be larger than that of the second quarter and the fourth quarter volume will be larger than the previous quarter. So the overall, the shipment is expected to grow for exports. In terms of the domestic market, I have shared with you that some of the sales included the higher profit products that might have the margin of high single digit or even double digit. And for the third quarter, the export volume will be much larger than that of the domestic volume. In the fourth quarter, because of the traditional seasonality, we will experience a significant increase in the domestic volume. So this is also another reason why we expect the overall performance will continue to grow quarter-by-quarter until the Q4 of this year. And for 2025, based upon the delivery in the Chunmoo schedule, we expect to witness a gradual growth in the performance. The next question is from DAOL Investment & Securities. So he said that the K9 had 60 units and the Chunmoo has 30 units as the guideline for the whole year 2024. It seems that during the second quarter of this year that you have delivered 18 Chunmoo, then how many are remaining for the third and fourth quarter? I'd like to understand what is your second half prospect? The answer is that the guidance that we have shared with you are indeed correct that it will be 60 K9 and 30 Chunmoo, but or more. So there is a definite upside potential for the whole volume. So for the first half, we are in the range, and you might think that the remaining volume might be small, but because of the confidentiality arrangement that we have with our customers and the clients, we cannot disclose any definite figures, whether that be 30, 40 or 50. But what I can share with you is that the volume for the second half will not be smaller than the first half. And there are products bound for other than Poland, for example, we were signed or we have signed a contract with Egypt for K9 in the second half of this year. And because of the embargo that we have with the Middle Eastern clients, we cannot disclose any further details. I hope you can understand that. But despite these other volumes to other regions, then Poland, we maintain the guidance for the year as is, which is 60 K9 and 30 Chunmoo or more. The next question is from DAOL Investment & Securities. You mentioned that the Egypt project will start in the second half. And the Australian self-propelled artillery project have already started. So how much sales can we expect to have recorded in the first, second quarters and also to be recorded in the second half? The answer is, I do regret that I am causing difficulties in making the accurate forecasting. But for the Australian cases, the site has -- will be operational from August. So that means that any performance is generated from that site will be recorded from the second half of this year. So please understand that we cannot disclose the exact volume that goes out to Poland, Egypt or Australia. But all in all, both operating profit and the shipment will grow quarter-on-quarter basis. The next question is from KB Securities. So with regard to the Land Systems' order backlog that all the known orders are close to be completed. But left will be the volume for the Poland market. According to the Polish framework agreements that you have entered into, you are supposed to provide them with 672 units of K9. I believe that there are around 300 remaining out of this framework agreement. So is there any other projects that are ongoing or currently being marketed on the pipeline, anything that is happening at the moment? So the answer is that the remaining volume to Poland is currently under negotiation, then we have signed an agreement with the Polish authority, as you know, regarding the K9 and also Chunmoo with the 2-1 and 2-2 agreements. And with that, we believe that the Polish authorities have shown their very strong commitment. And we believe that we have secured enough volume to cover 2029 already. And I hope that these two countries can narrow their differences and continue on with the negotiation because the needs still exist. And as for the next item on the pipeline for the order backlog, there are the armored vehicle. The Australian Redback, we have started to establish a very good track record in many countries around the world, especially the Europe and the Middle East are showing interest. And our aspiration is to grow this pipeline as big as that of Chunmoo. So this is an area the company is focusing its marketing activities on. And because of the unique nature of the business that we cannot disclose any tangible details whether I can guarantee you there are many movements that are made under the water. The next question is from Shinhan Investment Securities. I have two questions actually. So first is that when can we recognize the K9 sales to Romania? And the second question is that is there any adjustment of performances between the affiliate companies? So, if I may answer the second question first. So there are nothing in particular to note of in terms of the intercompany or the inter affiliate company, a transaction between the groups other than the ordinary elimination of intercompany results. And as for the Romanian K9 contract, so we have just signed the contract at the end of this month. So I believe that it is too early for us to share any sales to be recognized. Maybe we can share some more details possibly at the next earnings call. The next question is from Nomura Financial Investment. I have a question regarding Hanwha Precision Machinery. According to the media report that the Hybrid Bonder, the testing is going well. Then if things pan out nicely, then you will soon start the shipment. So can you let me know what will be the feasibility of it? And how much are you expected to generate sales with the Hybrid Bonder for '25? The answer is, at this point, what I can share with you is that the test is ongoing with a TC Bonder and the Hybrid Bonder is currently under development. Due to the confidentiality arrangement that we have with the customers, the best information that I can share with you is about the stages. I hope you can understand that. The next question is from BofA Securities. The question is about the Land Systems versus the forecast. There are about KRW 50 billion worth of differences between the forecast and the actual. Is there any onetime profit that has contributed to with a stronger performance? The answer is, well, nothing in particular, maybe the FX had a minor impact, but not major. And maybe the differences might come from us not able to share with any definite guidance in terms of the number of shipments by item by country. But what I can show you is that on the fundamental note that in terms of the amount of shipment and also the profit wise that we remain quite strong, and that could explain the strong performance. And if I may say that there is a particular variable to take note of this quarter is the domestic mass production volume that includes the products that has the higher or the stronger profit profile. And for the second half, then we expect the shipment will continue to grow, and especially around export. The next question is from KB Securities. So you said for the domestic defense system or the Land Systems, the OPM was in high single or the double-digit. So are you saying that, that was part of the domestic Land System sales or the high single or double digit is the general operating profit for the domestic Land Systems? And the extra question is with regard to the RSP expense. So in this quarter, the operating loss from the RSP went down quite significantly, to around KRW 3 billion. So does this suggest that with regard to the RSP project, the BEP will be sooner than expected? Or would that be just a onetime event? And do you expect that RSP associated loss will increase in the near future? The answer is, as for the Land System sales, the portion of the mass production was higher for the domestic sales that has the stronger profitability profile. So that has contributed to the stronger Q2 performance. And we expect that during Q4, we expect a similar pattern to repeat because of the conditional seasonality plus stronger domestic sales in that period. For the RSP, we did better in this quarter. We will then suggest that BEP will be met and sooner, not necessarily, but we feel looking to the half year forecast for the remainder of this year because of the decline in the number of delivery and increase in the A/M sales that is the reason why we're able to have a stronger RSP performance. We expect that to be continued throughout the rest of the year. But will that be maintained in '25? We're not sure. But what we can tell you for the time being is that we expect the situation will be quite similar in the second half as to what has happened in the second quarter. The next question is from the Nomura Financial Investment. With regard to the K9 exports and used engine from Germany, sometimes you struggle to get the permits as an approval. So that is the reason why you are promoting to develop the engine locally. I understand that is ongoing. Can you share with us the progress? The answer is the test is currently underway in Korea. Maybe we can implement the domestic engine from the volumes that will be shipped from next year. The next question is from DAOL Investment & Securities. So you've had a very strong Land Systems domestic performance, and that might include the ammunition system that you have acquired 2 years ago. So what is the margin like for the ammunitions? And what is the whole share of the ammunition out of your total sales of the Land Systems? The answer is, during the second quarter, there was new ammunition sales recognized. And if I were to give you the portion of the ammunition sales for the total first half, it is slightly over 20%. The next question is Mirae Asset Investment Securities. So you did far better than expected when it comes to the domestic businesses. Will that affect the annual guidelines? The answer is the guidance that we have given you was the 60 K9 and 30 Chunmoo or more, and that is mostly for the export. And what we can share with you is that for the second half, we expect the larger volume than that of the first half. As for the domestic market, we have not particularly shared our guidance with you. But what we can share you for now is that for the fourth quarter, because of the seasonality, what we have experienced in the second quarter might repeat. The next question is from Daiwa Securities. So as for the K9 and Chunmoo shipment, do you have any share of the guidance for the year '25? The answer is the business plan for FY '25 will be established from the end of third quarter throughout the beginning of the fourth quarter. So because of that reason that we cannot disclose any tangible details. But if I were to give you the multiyear prediction, so the shipment volume and the sales and the profit from the export and the export share out of the total sales and the profit will continue to remain solid. I do hope that we can share with you the 2025 guidance during the next conference call because currently, we are adjusting this figure internally. The next question is from KB Securities. When it comes to the non-operating profit and loss, there was about KRW 220 billion differences. And out of that, KRW 140 billion is to do with the Over Air. So the remaining KRW 80 billion, is there anything that is of note? The answer is that your understanding is correct that about KRW 80 billion, most of it is to do with the interest expense, and there is nothing of note. Next question is from Shinhan Investment Securities. Can we know of any updates in terms of your capacity and the capital expenditure? The answer is that, we do have quite a large number of products under production. But if I were to take K9 as an example, we have increased the number of lines to 3. So that is to do with the capacity expansion. And as for the CapEx that for this year, we have shared with you the CapEx investment range of KRW 500 billion to KRW 600 billion, and we expect the investment will be in the same range in 2025 as well. The next question is from HI Investment & Securities. And he needed to do with about the profitability. As for the Land Systems, if you were to exclude the domestic sales that the OPM for the exports will be around the mid-20s. So do you believe that level of profitability will be maintained? The answer is that, yes. For the second quarter for the domestic sales, the OPM was in high single digit, although even at the double-digit range. So if you do the calculations for the exports, so you're right that your calculation is in the right range. For the second half, the delivery pipeline, the composition will not change greatly. In terms of the profitability, of course, there could be some quarter-on-quarter fluctuation. But on the yearly note, it will be in the same range. The next question is from Nomura Financial Investment. Can we know when are you planning to have the IR sessions for the new listing of this new entity? The answer is the suspension period will begin by the end of August, and the real listing will happen sometime at the end of September. So we are planning to have an IR session during or even before the suspension period start. And when -- as soon as we have more tangible plans ready, then we will start communicating with the market. Next question is from DAOL Investment & Securities. With regard to the Over Air impairment loss, that was calculated or recognized as at quarter is KRW 140 billion. According to the Hanwha Systems conference call that happened yesterday, they have set aside a smaller amount in terms of the impairment loss, even though they have started the investment much sooner than the Hanwha Aerospace. Can you explain to us what is the reason behind? The answer is you're right that Hanwha Systems has made an investment earlier. That means that they have started the depreciation much earlier. So that is the reason why the amount set aside for this investment were different between these two companies. But anyhow that we have completed the depreciation between the Air Overs and the systems, and we do not expect any further costs associated with this investment. An additional question is that, will there be any dividend policy established for this year? The answer is, for FY '23, so the DPS Y-o-Y increased by 80% EPS Y-o-Y 70%. So by the end of this year, we are planning to have a rational value at this closure, and we are keeping a very close eye on the DPS and EPS increase and decrease. And definitely for this year, the profit has increased. So that will definitely be reflected into the shareholder return. Next question is from Shinhan Investment Securities. So what will be the expected impact if and when President Trump is reelected? The answer is that it is difficult to mention about any political issue. What we can share with you is that the geopolitical tension is escalating in many different parts of the world, including Europe, Middle East and Asia. And that is driving the demand for the weapon system, and that is probably the reason why we are getting an increasing number of customers increased. We are working really hard to respond well to this increase and sometimes they lead to the new orders. And in terms of the new order pipeline that we are focusing on armored vehicle so that it can be our next best seller. So many of the marketing efforts are underway. Next question is from the Nomura Financial Investment. So the K9 for Poland, the remaining volume are there. But according to the media report, the Polish authorities are requesting of the trade from the subsequent governments. So can you confirm or deny that, that is the case? Regarding the dealings between the governments that we have only the limited knowledge. But what is clear is that we have entered into the second operational agreement. And during the period or during the process, we were able to confirm that the Poland has a strong need and demand for our products. So that was the reason why we were able to enter into this contract. So it all bodes down to how desperately the customer wants our products in, what is the competitiveness of our products. In their contractual details and the financing, it is all conditional upon these two major considerations. The fact that we were able to sign the 2-1 and the 2-2 contracts that testify the customers will and also their product competitiveness.