Kolon Global posts W52.2b operating profit in Q2, up 174% on year

Kolon Global sharply improved its profitability in the second quarter of this year, driven by a better cost ratio in its construction segment, expansion of non-residential projects, and growth in its leisure and asset management (AM) division.

The company disclosed Wednesday that it posted consolidated sales of 750.5 billion won ($530 million), operating profit of 52.2 billion won and net profit for the period of 32.3 billion won in the second quarter of 2026. Sales rose 2.2 percent from the same period a year earlier, while operating profit surged 173.6 percent. Net profit for the period swung back to positive territory.

The construction segment reversed course after the company carried out a "big bath" — a one-time write-off of latent losses — at the end of last year, with cost stabilization effects now feeding through to earnings. Second-quarter construction sales reached 608.1 billion won, and operating profit climbed 154.7 percent year-on-year to 40.5 billion won. The construction cost ratio came in at 87.7 percent, down 1.9 percentage points from a year earlier.

In the non-residential segment, portfolio diversification centered on industrial and plant projects underpinned earnings. Results reflected work on a Korean Air engine maintenance factory, a Tokyo Electron Korea research facility, a Samsung Electronics ADC DP expansion, and a cold-temperature discharge reduction facility at the Pyeongtaek 1 complex.

New orders in the non-residential segment also continued to build. The company secured contracts including an integrated water supply project for the Yongin semiconductor industrial complex worth 126.5 billion won and a Kumho Tire manufacturing factory project worth 39.9 billion won, bringing cumulative new orders for the first half of this year to 985.4 billion won.

The leisure and AM division also contributed to the earnings improvement, buoyed by the effects of last year's merger and peak-season momentum at hotels, resorts and golf courses. Second-quarter sales for the leisure and AM segment rose 304.2 percent year-on-year to 85.7 billion won, while operating profit climbed 610.5 percent to 13.5 billion won.

"The stabilization of construction costs, the expansion of non-residential projects, and the post-merger growth of the leisure and AM segment have combined to bring balance to our business structure," a company official said. "We will continue to pursue selective orders focused on profitability."

Kolon Global has set full-year earnings guidance of 3.1 trillion won in sales and 120 billion won in operating profit for this year.