CJ Freshway Reports 1st Quarter Operating Profit of 11 Billion Won

CJ Freshway has continued its growth in the first quarter by evenly expanding its distribution and food service sectors.
 
On May 8, CJ Freshway announced that it achieved sales of 833.9 billion won and an operating profit of 11 billion won in the first quarter of this year, marking increases of 4.4% and 3.8%, respectively, compared to the same period last year.
 
The core food distribution business, which includes restaurant ingredients and food materials, recorded sales of 399.9 billion won. Online sales in this segment surged by 17% year-on-year, driving overall growth.
 
The domestic B2B food distribution market is valued at 50 trillion won annually, but most transactions still occur offline through regional wholesalers. This is why major distribution companies are fiercely competing to digitize this market.
 
To lead this market transformation, CJ Freshway increased its stake in the IT company Marketboro, which operates the B2B food distribution open market platform 'Sikbom,' to 55%, becoming its largest shareholder in March.

Leveraging this position, the company is aggressively expanding its franchise customer base and enhancing its logistics network with differentiated products such as dairy and seafood to accelerate its dominance in the online distribution ecosystem.
 
The food service business, benefiting from the kitchenless strategy, recorded sales of 427.4 billion won. The kitchenless model, which provides meal services without location constraints, saw related service revenues, including 'Fresh Meal On,' increase by 41% year-on-year, contributing to improved profitability.
 
In January, CJ Freshway opened the country's largest food court, 'Gourmet Bridge,' at Incheon Airport's Terminal 2, resulting in a 43% increase in sales from large concession channels compared to the previous year.
 
The expansion of food service ingredient sales, particularly in the kids' and school meal segments, also supported the company's overall performance.
 
Im Sung-cheol, Chief Financial Officer of CJ Freshway, stated, "Despite seasonal off-peak periods and an uncertain external environment, we have confirmed balanced growth in both the distribution and food service sectors, as well as the success of our new growth model centered on online and kitchenless strategies. We will accelerate our execution to establish a sustainable growth structure focused on profitability, as the foundation we have built in new businesses is beginning to yield significant results."