Dongwon Group reported a big jump in its Q2 2025 operating profit as the company closed out H1 2025 with sales growth.
Dongwon Group, which owns U.S. tuna company StarKist Co., posted KRW 2.36 trillion (USD 1.7 billion, EUR 1.46 billion) in sales in Q2 2025, up 10.1 percent from the KRW 2.1 trillion (USD 1.5 billion, EUR 1.3 billion) it posted in Q2 2024. Its profit in the same period spiked by 57.7 percent, reaching KRW 133 billion (USD 96 million, EUR 82 million), up from KRW 84 billion (USD 60 million, EUR 52 million).
“Dongwon Group continued its strong performance, demonstrating balanced growth across its key business sectors, including fisheries and food,” the company said in a release about its results. “In particular, increased exports in the food and materials sectors drove the improved performance.”
The company also posted big increases to its profit from continuing operations before taxes, which rose 63.3 percent to KRW 114 billion (USD 104 million, EUR 89 million) in Q2 2025. Net income also spiked by 92.9 percent in Q2 2025 to KRW 88 billion (USD 63 million, EUR 54 million), up from KRW 45 billion (USD 32 million, EUR 27 million) in the same period of 2024.
For H1 2025, the company posted sales of KRW 4.68 trillion (USD 3.4 billion, EUR 2.9 billion), an increase of 6.7 percent year over year. Profits for H1 2025 also increased by 32.7 percent to KRW 258.5 billion (USD 186.7 million, EUR 159.9 million), up from KRW 194.8 billion (USD 140.7 million, EUR 120.5 million).
Dongwon Group said during both Q2 2025 and H1 2025 overall it saw significant improvements in the profitability of its fishing operations, largely due to rising prices. Holding company Dongwon Industries saw its H1 2025 sales increase slightly to KRW 579.3 billion (USD 418.4 million, EUR 358.4 million), a small increase of 0.9 percent. However, its operating profit spiked 49.7 percent to KRW 110.3 billion (USD 79.7 million, EUR 68.2 million).
The company’s food and beverage subsidiary Dongwon F&B also saw both its sales and profitability increase, which it attributed to overseas exports and its product portfolio.
“Exports of strategic products like pet food and tteokbokki (stir-fried rice cakes) to the U.S. gained momentum, while exports of seasoned seaweed and beverages, particularly to Asia, increased, driving overall exports up more than 20 percent year over year,” Dongwon said. “Furthermore, seasoned foods and convenience foods also saw steady growth, driven by rising demand for in-house dining.”
The company said three other divisions also posted improved performance, including Dongwon Home Foods, Dongwon Systems, and Dongwon Construction and Industry.
“We have achieved solid performance through a stable business portfolio including fisheries, food, materials, and logistics, as well as active development of new businesses,” a spokesperson for Dongwon Group said in a release. “We will continue to strengthen management efficiency and sound management while boldly investing to discover new growth engines and build a sustainable growth structure.”
Dongwon Industrial announced its plans to restructure and delist its food subsidiary Dongwon F&B – the parent company to StarKist – and re-incorporate it into Dongwon Industrial earlier this year. The company also recently appointed Eunhong (Edward) Min as CEO of StarKist in February 2025.
