Samyang Foods and Nongshim both reported strong third-quarter earnings this year, with robust overseas exports driving growth, despite concerns over rising U.S. tariffs on Korean food products.
Samyang Foods' operating profit in the third quarter came to 130.9 billion won ($89.7 million), up 50 percent from a year earlier, while revenue rose 44 percent to 632 billion won, the company said Friday. The company's strong performance was led by record overseas sales, which surged 50 percent year-on-year to 510.5 billion won -- accounting for 81 percent of total revenue.
Both the United States and China, Samyang's key export markets, saw strong demand. U.S. subsidiary Samyang America posted $112 million in revenue in the third quarter this year, up 59 percent year-on-year. Chinese subsidiary Samyang Foods Shanghai recorded 951 million yuan ($134 million) in revenue the same period, a 56 percent year-on-year increase.
"Despite challenging external conditions such as retaliatory tariffs, we achieved both top-line growth and improved profitability by leveraging strong global demand for Buldak noodles and responding strategically through tariff management and expanded production capacity," the company said.
Since August, the United States has imposed a 15 percent tariff on Korean food imports. In response, Samyang Foods raised its supply prices to retailers like Walmart by around 9 percent since last month, with retail prices rising by about 14 percent. Contrary to earlier concerns, the price hike has not led to a drop in sales, the company noted.
"Despite the emergence of similar products, Buldak seems to have established itself as the original brand in the U.S. market," a Samyang official said. Although Samyang lacks production facilities in the U.S., the company said its quick response to tariff risks proved effective.
A dedicated tariff response team was formed in April to track industry trends and begin price negotiations with retailers as soon as the tariffs were imposed. The launch of the company's second factory in Miryang, South Gyeongsang, earlier this year has also accelerated export growth.
Nongshim reported an operating profit of 54.4 billion won in the third quarter this year, up 44.6 percent from a year ago, while revenue rose 2.4 percent to 871.2 billion won.
"Steady growth in overseas subsidiaries in China, Japan, Australia and Europe contributed to the increase in sales," a company spokesperson said.
Nongshim attributed its profit growth in part to a base effect from the previous year, when operating profit dropped sharply due to price cuts on its Shin Ramyun spicy noodles and Saeukkang shrimp-flavored chips in July 2023. This year, the company raised prices on both products again, contributing to the improvement in third-quarter earnings.
"Nongshim operates a production plant in the United States, so the impact of tariffs was limited," the spokesperson added. "Although third-quarter revenue growth was modest, we expect to see gains reflected in the fourth quarter [this year] from collaborative products with Netflix's 'KPop Demon Hunters' targeting the U.S. market."
Meanwhile, Ottogi reported third-quarter revenue this year of 955.5 billion won, up 5.7 percent year-on-year. However, operating profit declined 12.9 percent to 55.3 billion won. The company cited rising production costs and increased selling and administrative expenses as the main reasons for the drop in profit, despite double-digit growth in overseas sales and strong performance from its refrigerated and frozen food product lines in Korea.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY LIM SUN-YOUNG [[email protected]]