(Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Kang Ae-ran = Daedong [000490] announced on the 14th that its consolidated operating profit for the first half of this year stood at 46.8 billion won, a 1.7% decrease compared to the same period last year.
Revenue increased by 3.4% to 814 billion won, driven by strong sales in the North American and European markets.
By region, sales in the North American and European subsidiaries increased by 10% and 25%, respectively.
The market share for tractors under 100 horsepower rose by 1.3 percentage points to 9.2% in North America and by 0.4 percentage points to 2.2% in Europe.
Daedong stated that it achieved solid performance despite the challenging external environment of the overall global agricultural machinery market through strategic market responses and the advancement of products, parts, and services.
Daedong expects the effects of the price increase, the opening of a western warehouse, the expansion of Connect app subscribers, and the increase in North American dealers, which were implemented in North America during the first half of the year, to be seen from the second half onwards.
Starting from the third quarter, Daedong plans to launch a new "DK Series" tractor targeting the European fruit farming market and to fully enter the European small construction machinery market. The company also plans to expand and relocate its existing warehouses in the Netherlands and Germany to strengthen its sales and distribution competitiveness within Europe.
Additionally, Daedong aims to cultivate Ukraine as a strategic hub for expanding its Eastern European business to improve mid- to long-term profitability.
Domestically, the company is focusing on strengthening its market dominance by applying advanced technology to agricultural machinery.
Daedong CEO Won Yu-hyun said, "We will accelerate the execution of tailored strategies for North America and Europe in the second half" and "We will continue our growth trajectory through the release of AI-based autonomous agricultural machinery and robots, as well as the expansion of the parts business."