Earnings call transcript: CJ Cheiljedang sees net profit surge in Q2 2025

CJ Cheiljedang reported a notable performance in its Q2 2025 earnings call, with a significant increase in net profit despite a slight dip in sales. The company recorded a 40% year-over-year increase in net profit, reaching KRW 149 billion, driven by improved non-operating income and lower interest expenses. However, sales decreased by 0.2% to KRW 4.3224 trillion, and operating profit fell by 11% year-over-year to KRW 235.1 billion. The stock reacted positively, rising by 2% to a closing price of KRW 234,500.

Key Takeaways

• Net profit surged by 40% year-over-year, attributed to improved non-operating income.
• Operating profit declined by 11% amid a slight decrease in sales.
• The stock price increased by 2%, indicating a positive market reaction.
• The company expanded its product categories internationally, with notable growth in Japan and Europe.
• Online sales of processed food increased by 24% year-over-year.

Company Performance

CJ Cheiljedang demonstrated resilience in Q2 2025, maintaining growth in its overseas food business despite a challenging economic environment. The company saw stable pizza sales in the U.S. and increased sales of Micho in Japan, reflecting its strategic expansion in international markets. However, the global food consumption slowdown and economic downturn in Korea posed challenges, contributing to a slight decrease in overall sales.

Financial Highlights

• Revenue: KRW 4.3224 trillion, a 0.2% decrease year-over-year
• Operating profit: KRW 235.1 billion, an 11% decrease year-over-year
• Net profit: KRW 149 billion, a 40% increase year-over-year
• Operating margin: 5.4%

Market Reaction

Following the earnings announcement, CJ Cheiljedang's stock price rose by 2%, closing at KRW 234,500. This increase reflects investor optimism regarding the company's profitability improvements and strategic international expansion. The stock's performance remains within its 52-week range, with a low of KRW 220,000 and a high of KRW 288,500.

Outlook & Guidance

For Q3, CJ Cheiljedang projects low single-digit growth in consolidated revenue and an expected operating profit margin of 5%. The company plans to focus on normalizing pie production in the U.S., expanding its Mandu business in Japan, and enhancing profitability in its bio business.

Executive Commentary

Chun Ki-sung, Head of Corporate Finance, emphasized the company's focus on enhancing profitability through market growth and innovation. He stated, "We are going to enhance the profitability based on the growth of other markets." Chun also highlighted the company's competitive edge, mentioning, "We have the competitiveness in the cost, and we have a strain, AI technology, and also the COGM innovation efforts right now."

Risks and Challenges

• Global food consumption slowdown may affect future sales growth.
• Economic downturn in Korea could impact domestic demand.
• Protectionist movements in the lysine market pose challenges.
• The company faces potential supply chain disruptions.
• Competition in the specialty amino acids market remains intense.

Q&A

During the earnings call, analysts inquired about the normalization of pie production in the U.S. and the Chiba plant investment in Japan. The company also addressed questions regarding the dynamics of the lysine market and challenges in the specialty amino acids sector, indicating a strategic focus on overcoming these hurdles.

Full transcript - CJ Cheiljedang (097950) Q2 2025:

Lee Eun-ho, IR Team Member, CJ Cheiljedang: Good morning, everyone. I am Lee Eun-ho from the IR team at CJ Cheiljedang. Thank you for joining the Q2 2025 earnings conference call. Today's session will be interpreted simultaneously into English for our foreign investors. Please note that today's presentation materials include forward-looking statements, which may change depending on future business conditions. Additionally, these materials are subject to adjustments during the external auditor's review process. Let me first introduce the CJ team attending today: Mr. Chun Ki-sung, Head of Corporate Finance; Mr. Kwon Tae-ho, Head of Food Business Planning; Mr. Chun Sun-ho, Head of Food Korea Business Planning; Mr. Kim Jeong-hyun, Head of Bio Business Planning; and Mr. Koo Jeong-hyun, Head of Feed and Care Business Planning. Today's agenda is as follows: first, Mr. Chun Ki-sung will present the Q2 business results and review.

Following that, each business unit will share updates on key strategy execution and outlook, followed by the Q&A session. Good morning, everyone. I am Chun Ki-sung, Head of Corporate Finance at CJ Cheiljedang. Today's presentation will cover highlights of Q2 2025 earnings, a detailed analysis by business unit, and the progress on key strategy execution and outlook. First, on page five, let me share the corporate results for Q2 2025, excluding CJ Logistics. Despite the slowdown in the Korean food business, sales growth in overseas food and bio partially offset the decline, resulting in a 0.2% year-over-year decrease to KRW 4.3224 trillion. Despite improved profitability in bio and feed and care, weakened food consumption in Korea led to an 11% year-over-year decline to KRW 235.1 billion, with an operating margin of 5.4%.

Driven by improved non-operating income, including lower interest expenses, net profit increased 40% year-over-year to KRW 149 billion. Including CJ Logistics, sales in Q2 remained flat year-over-year at KRW 7.2372 trillion, and operating profit decreased by 7% year-over-year to KRW 353.1 billion. Despite the global food consumption slowdown, overseas sales growth momentum continued, driven by regional expansion. Key products such as pizza in the U.S. and Micho in Japan maintained stable sales, while Europe and Oceania achieved growth in scale through entry into new mainstream channels and product category expansion. In Korea, while food demand weakened due to the economic downturn, the share of online sales for packaged food increased by 4 percentage points year-over-year based on strengthened digital capabilities, partially mitigating the impact of weak food demand. In the bio business, amid increased market volatility, we diversified manufacturing bases and portfolios to improve the performance.

With the increased profits from lysine and SPC, we improved the profitability by offsetting the underperformance of some products like tryptophan and specialty amino acids. As for the feed and care, expanded feed sales and improved livestock spread supported the performance improvements in both feed and livestock businesses. Profitability is improving as feed sales are growing steadily based on quality management systems, as well as stabilized livestock market conditions and enhanced COGM. On page six, let's look at the details by business unit. Starting with the food business unit, sales decreased by 1% year-over-year to KRW 2.6873 trillion. Overseas business maintained solid growth through expanded sales of key products in Japan and the U.S. and entry into new mainstream channels and category expansion in Europe and Oceania. However, the Korean business saw a slight decline due to weak domestic demand and the stagnation of offline channels.

Operating profit declined by 34% year-over-year to KRW 90.1 billion. In the U.S., profitability was negatively impacted by increased raw material costs and manufacturing disruptions in desserts. However, improved profitability in China and Japan partially offset the decline in overseas food. In Korea, demand weakened due to economic downturns, leading to a decline in sales volume. Rising raw material costs increased cost burdens, leading to lowered profits. Next, let me break down the food business unit sales. First, overseas food sales grew by 3% year-over-year to KRW 1.3688 trillion. In the U.S., growth in pizza and GSP sales helped offset the impact of weak dessert sales. Europe delivered strong growth through entry into new mainstream channels and key product category expansion. Oceania expanded GSP sales, particularly in mainstream channels.

In Japan, Micho sales increased during the peak season, while Mandu continued to show strong growth momentum. In China, despite a focus on profitability-driven operations, performance remained steady through expanded sales of key products such as Dasida and GSP. Food sales in Korea declined by 5% year-over-year to KRW 1.3185 trillion. Packaged food sales in online channels grew by 24%, but overall sales decreased due to weak domestic consumption. As for FI, lower raw material costs, including soybean meal, led to price reductions, resulting in a 7% decline in sales. Next is the bio business unit. Sales increased by 2% year-over-year to KRW 1.0798 trillion, while products like tryptophan, nucleotides, and specialty amino acids were impacted by unfavorable market conditions due to high base effects and increased supply from competitors. Lysine prices rose following anti-dumping duties on Chinese products in Europe, and SPC sales expanded, leading to a sales growth.

Operating profit increased by 8% year-over-year to KRW 102.4 billion. This growth was driven by favorable market conditions for bulky amino acids such as lysine and threonine, as well as price increases in SPC and soybean oil, which significantly contributed to Selecta's profitability improvements. Let me now provide the details for the bio business unit. First, in animal nutrition, lysine prices continue to rise due to anti-dumping duties on Chinese products in Europe. As we extended profitable formats for lysine, performance improved. Tryptophan faced challenges from high base effects from last year but mitigated the impact through expanded sales volumes. Specialty amino acids such as valine and arginine were affected by weak soybean meal prices and increased supply from competitors. Selecta performance improved through increased sales of non-GMP SPC for Europe and higher soybean oil prices, driven by strong palm oil prices and weak soybean meal prices.

In taste and nutrition, nucleotides continue to experience price declines due to economic slowdown and intensified competition in China. However, taste and rich achieved sales growth by leveraging tech competitiveness to create new demand for products like seasoning blenders. Next, on page 11 is the feed and care business unit. Despite increased feed sales, sales decreased by 3% year-over-year to KRW 555.3 billion due to price declines from stabilized raw material costs and structural improvements focused on profitability. As for the operating profit, Indonesian livestock market conditions worsened, but we enhanced feed utilization to improve profitability and built a stable profit structure of Vietnam's livestock business, resulting in 25% year-over-year growth to KRW 42.6 billion. Let me now share the details for feed and care business. As for feed, we strengthened quality management, restoring both quality and sales competitiveness to recover sales.

Also, we improved the structure of low-profit products in each market, contributing to profit expansion. As for livestock, while livestock prices in Vietnam remained upward flat, we enhanced cost management to maximize profitability. In Indonesia, by the way, livestock prices weakened due to economic downturns, but we minimized the impact on profitability through cost improvements. Lastly, let's look at CJ Logistics. Sales remained flat year-over-year at KRW 3.0484 trillion. Growth in W&D was driven by 3PL orders based on our consulting service, TAU UNBAN. However, continued consumption slowdown and tariff uncertainties led to weaker performance in parcel delivery and global businesses, resulting in a slight sales decline. Operating profit decreased by 8% year-over-year to KRW 115.2 billion. Profitability declined due to a decrease in parcel volumes, the expansion of new businesses, including the U.S. cold chain and daily delivery service ONE, and initial stabilization costs related to large new contracts.

Next, we will share the strategy execution by business unit. Okay, let me walk you through the progress and outlook for food business. In our overseas markets, we are strengthening our stable growth foundation in regions, including Japan and Europe. In Japan, we achieved structural growth with Q2 sales increasing by 37% year-over-year. For Micho, we have secured a sustainable profit structure through peak season demand expansion and price stabilization. For Mandu, we are driving growth with our new Chiba plant scheduled for full-scale operation this September. Furthermore, in July, we launched a dedicated Bibigo section in Don Quijote, enhancing brand awareness and consumer experience. In Europe, high revenue growth continues. In the second quarter, combined sales in the U.K., Germany, and the Netherlands grew by 17%, while other regions grew by 58%.

We are accelerating our global footprint expansion by increasing our coverage and product categories in Europe, having newly entered Italy, Greece, and Spain. In the second half, we plan to further diversify our product categories by launching new products. For Food Korea, we are accelerating our digital transformation based on resource optimization by fully implementing platform-specific strategies. In the second quarter, online sales of processed food grew by 24% year-on-year, driven by the reallocation of resources to online channels and more sophisticated strategies. Furthermore, products reflecting health and convenience trends have been resonating with consumers, recording double-digit sales growth. Notably, the one-minute bouillon ring grew by 130% year-on-year, grilled fish 38%, and Soboro chicken by 11%. In the second half, we plan to continuously launch new products such as PEXR 10-minute cook, low-sugar dressings, and line extensions for the one-minute bouillon ring to resonate with health and wellness trends.

Next, our transfer key bio products. First, for lysine, favorable market conditions are continued based on strengthening global protectionism and cost competitiveness. Definitive tariffs have been imposed on Chinese lysine in Europe, and provisional tariffs are scheduled in the U.S. as well, reinforcing global protectionist movements. This environment is expected to be favorable for CJ Cheiljedang, which has diversified global production bases. Additionally, as the spread between raw sugar, our major raw material, and corn, the major raw material for our Chinese competitor, narrows, we expect our earning momentum to be further strengthened by our competitive cost structure. Next is histidine. It is expected to continue its high growth based on the growth of the salmon feed market and strong selling prices. The global supply of salmon feed is shrinking due to continuous demand growth and production cuts by some competitors.

Accordingly, our feed-grade Histidine sales in second quarter this year saw high growth, increasing by 88% year-on-year and 120% quarter-over-quarter. Furthermore, as rising sea temperatures extend the growth period for salmon, structural market growth is anticipated, including an increase in feed production. Selling prices are also expected to remain strong. CJ Cheiljedang will lead the market by expanding our market share through increased production volume and enhanced cost competitiveness. Next, I will discuss the outlook for the third quarter of this year. First, for overseas food in the U.S., we plan to drive growth as pie production and distribution fully normalize, and we further expand GSP sales through new pizza launches and the expansion of our frozen and ambient rice categories. However, uncertainties from rising raw material costs still remain. In Japan, we expect to maximize Micho's profitability while accelerating Mandu's growth through the operation of our new Chiba plant.

In China, we anticipate continued growth by expanding regional and channel coverage based on core products like Dasida and GSP. In Europe and Oceania, we will strengthen consumer awareness through product launches, promotions, and campaigns, and we expect to maintain steady growth by expanding listings in mainstream channels and increasing penetration in new countries. For Food Korea, revenue growth is expected to be limited due to the profitability-focused streamlining of our food ingredients business. However, we plan to pursue gradual revenue growth by accelerating our online transition, improving the fundamentals of our offline channels, and capitalizing on opportunities from the domestic market recovery. For bio, amid sluggish demand and intensified competition for some items like bulky amino acids, the effects of profitability improvement are expected to become more apparent in the fourth quarter.

For FNC, while livestock prices in Vietnam are expected to see a slight downturn due to seasonal factors like rainy season, we anticipate profit growth through expanded feed sales, and solid profitability is expected to continue. To summarize, for the third quarter of this year, excluding CJ Logistics, we project consolidated revenue to see low single-digit growth year-over-year and an operating profit margin of 5%. This concludes today's presentation. We'll now begin the Q&A session. Please be advised that questions in Korean will be interpreted simultaneously, while questions in English will be interpreted consecutively. To ensure seamless interpretation, we kindly ask you to speak slowly when asking your questions. Let us begin Q&A session. For those with a question, please press star and the number one. If you want to cancel, press star and the number two. Please make sure to speak close to the receiver. First is Mr.

Hello, I'm Mr. Hwang from CT Securities. For global sales and Japan for food, I have a question for bio business as well. First is about the food business in the U.S. You mentioned that you're going to normalize pie production in the third quarter, and this is great news, of course. However, when we compared, when we halted the production of pie, is there any update for competition trend or raw material price? I think there have been a lot of changes. My question is that when you normalize pie production and compare it against when you halted the production, are you sure that we can restore the demand, or is there any other plans in place to be prepared for the situation?

What kind of gap did it cause from the halted pie production, and could you elaborate the impact on U.S. business sales for the first and second quarter? My second question goes to Japan food business. You mentioned that you are going to operate Chiba plant. How will it affect costs and sales of food business in the global market, and what kind of benefits are expected? Please elaborate on the progress and schedule. That was my second question. My last question goes to bio business. You mentioned about starting from the fourth quarter, you're going to improve profitability. I'm kind of confused because as far as I know, to compare against spot prices, I think there's a lagging period for three weeks, and lysine price increased like two or one week ago, and we are not sure about the third quarter.

We are not seeing volatility for prices. For the U.S., there must be some impact for anti-dumping effects. As far as I know, for Europe, Chinese share is only about 40%. However, in the U.S., the ratio is only about 10%. I do not think it will affect largely for the U.S. I do not think that it will impact the prices of lysine. What do you expect for benefits out of this lysine? Is there any factors that you see that will be beneficial for our business, and could you elaborate the impact of this on our lysine products? Okay. Out of your questions, let me answer the first question. Regarding the U.S., you asked a question about pie production. After the shutdown, we restored operations starting from May, and we started listing for our original retail channels.

We expect that it will be normalized during the third quarter, and we expect that we can reach the level, our original level of distribution, so that we can restore existing volume for our pie business. Second question, you mentioned about Chiba plant in Japan. We are going to operate starting from this September, and we invested KRW 100 billion for CapEx, and depreciation costs will go up. However, there will not be significant. It will be a limited increase. We are going to expand Mandu business in Japan. Total size is like KRW 1 trillion. However, that is highly oriented to Japanese Kyozan style Mandu. We are going to increase our shares of this Korean style Mandu.

To prepare for this new Chiba plant operation, we are looking into sales trend on a monthly basis, and I think we are quite confident that we can achieve and deliver the target of Mandu in Japan. Next, let me answer your bio question. Regarding lysine in EU, from 48%-58% tariff is kind of settled for lysine. In Latin America and North America, there will be another provisional tariff for this Chinese lysine product. In Europe, I think we can get some advantage so that we can tap into customers who used to use Chinese products. I think this is a great opportunity to increase our market share. We are going to expand sales, targeting those customers. By responding to the sales price changes, we are going to make efforts to restore our market share and increase sales volume.

For the U.S. market, we have a production base in America, so we are executing our action plans seamlessly. For example, like Chinese lysine products are entering the U.S. market, and it is increasing. This kind of anti-dumping tariff, for example, like powder type product, I think we can protect our market share. Internally, we are going to focus and transform into liquid type lysine so that we can protect our market share and our market presence in the U.S. Thank you. The next question is Kim Jeong-bum from Merit Securities. Please ask. Yes, thank you for the opportunity to ask. Please explain further about the impact of the food in the second quarter on the domestic side and the U.S. side because it is not profitable compared to sales. It will continue a bit.

Please tell us more about the burden of raw materials related to the U.S. and explain the reasons for profitability in the second half of the year compared to the first half of the year in Korea. Thank you. Regarding the U.S. updates, let me answer your question. OP decline in the U.S. was mainly driven by the pie production disruptions. As we shut down the plant for pie, the cost, especially fixed cost, increased a lot, so that's why there was a decline in OP in the U.S. Also, the cost burden in the U.S., there are no specific issues, but other products have good profitability, especially in other countries other than the U.S. We are going to enhance the profitability based on the growth of other markets. Let me tell you about the Korea business of the food business unit.

In Q2, the demand and the consumption has slowed down, so the sales in Korea have declined. The raw material cost for packaged food has increased, so there was a burden for that, and it is going to be maintaining in the second half, so the expenses and costs will be a burden for us. In Korea food, we are going to reduce and save the cost so that we can improve the profitability compared to the first half. If you have a question, please press star and number one. Next up is Morgan Stanley's Kim Hae-in. Please go ahead. Hello, I have two questions for today. The first is about bio. We can see the sales drop for specialty mix products. So regarding that, what kind of products are the main cause behind this falling?

The second question is about as we withdraw from Selecta selling sellout, and data has been updated. Regarding EBITDA, a lot of numbers have been updated. I think it is more related to bio business. Could you elaborate on this change? Depreciation cost. Okay, let me answer your question. Regarding soybean meal price dropping and increasing supply from competitors, out of specialty amino acids like arginine, valine, and tryptophan were affected, and that is because of intensified competition. However, starting from China, low protein and integrated supply has been increasing, and pork raising and chicken raising market is getting better. Overall, livestock industry is stable. In the short term, still it is getting weaker, but it is temporary.

CJ Cheiljedang will focus on specialty amino acid, and we sort out some highly promising markets so that we can improve our penetration rate while expanding our livestock business. Regarding your second question about Selecta, for Selecta, just like you said, yeah, it's related to a bio business because depreciation cost caused by Selecta is about KRW 4 billion for each quarter. Question is from Park Sang-jun of Kiwoom Securities. Please go ahead. Thank you for the opportunity. I have three questions. First, in bio, right now, other than lysine, there are some downward pressure on prices. In the second half, do you have any strategic pricing planned right now? Also, the second question, in Korea, the packaged food market, I mean, the sales are declining right now. In which categories are you experiencing a decline?

Right now, the consumption and consumer sentiment is on the rise. Do you believe there is a recovery in Q3 and the second half? The last question is related to the U.S. food business. In the pizza market, the market share has been increasing so far. Recently, when we look at the Q.Q. or M.O.M. analysis, is the market share increasing still? What's your plan for the second half to be competitive in the pizza market in the U.S.? Thank you. Let me answer your question about bio. Soybean meal prices have declined, and the supply from Chinese competitors has been increasing. The prices and the amino acid prices have been declining.

We are going to monitor the market more closely and also respond to the market and the competition more strongly so that we can secure and solidify the number one position in the market. More importantly, we have the price and cost spread, and the raw sugar cost is low right now. We have the competitiveness in the cost, and we have a strain, AI technology, and also the COGM innovation efforts right now. We can enhance the competitiveness in cost so that we can more strongly respond to the competition in the market. Thank you. Let me answer your question about the packaged food in Korea. In the first half, there was an economic downturn in Korea, so the demand has been declining. We had premium positions in some products, and those experienced a share or sales decline.

In the second half, we are going to respond to new demand in the second half. With one-minute bouillon ring and chicken products, we are going to secure new demand. In the second half, we are going to have a better performance than the first half. With the cash voucher provided by the government, we are going to expand the demand for in-home demand. Also, we're going to accelerate the digital transformation. Let me tell you about the pizza market in the U.S. In the U.S., the pizza business is like we have the market share divided with the competitor. Also, we are increasing the volume and the competitiveness right now, and we are solidifying the number one market share position in the U.S. In the second half, the demand is likely to go up, so we're going to strengthen the premiumization.

We are going to provide single-serve products in our portfolio so that we can secure and protect the market share as number one. There is no person waiting at the moment. If you have a question, please press star and number one. Thank you. Hearing none, if you have any additional questions, please reach out to our IR team. Let us close the second quarter conference call for CJ Cheiljedang. Thank you.

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