Samyang Foods third-quarter operating profit climbs 49.9 percent on overseas demand

Samyang Foods said Friday its third-quarter operating profit rose 49.9 percent from a year earlier to 196 billion won ($146 million), as the maker of the Buldak instant noodle brand continued to expand sales outside Korea.

Revenue for the July-September period reached 792 billion won ($590 million), up 25.3 percent from a year earlier, according to a regulatory filing. Net income came to 89.2 billion won ($66.5 million).

The results extend a run of growth powered by demand for the company's ramen in overseas markets. In the first half of this year, exports accounted for 1.18 trillion won of the 1.34 trillion won ($1 billion) the company booked in noodle snack sales, with domestic sales contributing 162 billion won ($120 million). Noodle snacks and other food manufacturing and sales account for more than 90 percent of consolidated revenue.

Samyang Foods is now moving to add capacity abroad. Chairman Kim Jung-soo said a plant in Jiaxing in China's Zhejiang Province will begin operating early next year, with its entire output destined for the Chinese domestic market.

"Because building a plant takes at least three to four years, we will decide within this year whether to place our second overseas production base in Europe or Southeast Asia," Kim said.

The company has been building a European presence ahead of that decision, establishing a Dutch subsidiary in 2024 and a British one in 2026 to widen sales on the continent. It is also due to take part in SIAL Paris 2026 with its own stand for the first time.

Alongside Buldak, Samyang Foods is developing a second line of products around Tanggle, a pasta made from high-protein, non-fried noodles.

The company had a market capitalization of 9.25 trillion won ($6.89 billion) as of Thursday, ranking 66th on the main Kospi market, putting it in the top 2 percent of listed companies there.