Ahead of the listing on the stock market (KOSPI), Hanwha Systems held an IPO press conference in Yeouido, Seoul, and presented its future growth strategy and vision to grow into a leading global defense electronics and ICT company.
"We are in the process of becoming a new Hanwha Systems by converging IT service competitiveness with technology that has been leading Korea's defense industry," said CEO Kim Yeon-chul.
Hanwha Systems is the only company in South Korea to fuse the defense industry with IT services. The domestic defense electronics' No. 1 system division in South Korea started with Samsung Precision in 1977 and was incorporated into Hanwha Group in 2015.
The ICT sector, which has competitive edge in system integration technology, was spun off into Hanwha S&C in 2001 as the parent of the information team launched in 1992 based on demand for IT development. The two sectors continued to make steady progress in their respective positions before having their current business appearance after being united by a merger last year.
Its system division made 947.4 billion won sales last year, focusing on projects in ISR system, C4I system, marine system, and aerospace system. The ICT sector, which is pushing for system integration (SI), convergence, and IT outsourcing (ITO) businesses, is also carrying out various business activities by having core value chains for each industry.
Hanwha Systems earned 1.12 trillion won in sales in terms of consolidated financial statements last year. The figure is up 32 percent from a year earlier. Operating profit rose 45 percent year-on-year to 44.8 billion won and net profit rose 193 percent to 41.2 billion won, in line with the high profit rate in the ICT sector.
In the first half of the year, the company posted 654.6 billion won in sales, including a 740 billion won project to improve performance of its selective identification feature equipment and other projects to upgrade Hanwha Life Insurance's insurance core.
In the second half of the year, the company is expected to achieve record-high orders and sales results through mass production of tactical communication information systems, export of combat systems for Filipino escort ships, video convergence systems for multiple locations, and operational control of ballistic missiles.
Hanwha Systems will offer a total of 32,861,424 shares during the listing process. The public offering band per share ranges from 12,250 won to 14,000 won. Hanwha Systems, which will make a public offering of up to 460.1 billion won, plans to establish a second data center and invest in new businesses such as Personal Air Vehicle (PA). It is going to finalize its initial public offering price through demand prediction by Oct. 30 and receive applications on Nov. 4 and 5.
