- "2027 KT&G Vision" unveiled…Investing KRW 4 trillion to achieve target sales of KRW 10 trillion

SEOUL, South Korea, Jan. 27, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- KT&G Corporation(KT&G) (KRX: 033780) unveiled its goals and roadmap to become a 'global top-tier' company at the KT&G Group Future Vision Declaration Ceremony on January 26, 2023.

The ceremony took place at KT&G Sangsang Planet in Seoul, Korea and was attended by employees and senior management from all business units of KT&G Group. At the event, KT&G's CEO Baek Bok-in presented the "2027 KT&G Vision" and outlined growth strategies that focus on three core business areas, including Heat Not Burn(HNB), Health Functional Food, and overseas business. The company plans to develop HNB and Health Functional Food segments into a core, growing business by establishing a virtuous cycle model within its business portfolio, allowing the company to reinvest returns and earnings from core businesses into new, growing businesses.

KT&G also announced a long-term plan for large-scale investment and global market expansion, reinforcing its commitment to become a 'global top-tier' company with significant growth potential. Based on the KRW 4 trillion growth investment in core business areas over the next five years, the company aims to achieve approximately KRW 10 trillion in annual sales by 2027 and increase its overseas sales and combined sales of HNB and Health Functional Food to account for 50% and 60% of its total net revenue, respectively.

Above all, KT&G plans to focus on the global expansion of its rapidly growing HNB business as a top priority. In this regard, the company will work on developing more advanced, innovative technologies and expanding global production capacities. In addition, the company will promote the Health Functional Food business of its subsidiary Korea Ginseng Corporation(KGC), which has gained an unrivaled competitiveness in the domestic market, as its key growth engine and expand its presence in the overseas markets, especially in the U.S. and China. Based on such global expansion strategies, the company expects HNB and Health Functional Food businesses to achieve more than KRW 2 trillion in sales each by 2027. The company will also actively seek opportunities to create synergies between the group's Health Functional Food and pharmaceutical sectors to maximize the company's business performance.

On the same day as the Vision Declaration Ceremony, KT&G hosted a virtual investor conference to openly communicate with shareholders and capital markets stakeholders. Currently, the company is faithfully executing on its three-year shareholder return policy(2021-2023) worth KRW 2.75 trillion. In line with this policy, KT&G is expected to increase its annual dividend by KRW 200 per share to KRW 5,000.

As part of the three-year shareholder return policy, KT&G is planning to launch a KRW 0.9 trillion shareholder return program this year, including a KRW 0.3 trillion share buyback and KRW 0.6 trillion dividend payout. The company will also introduce a semi-annual shareholder policy.

"KT&G has been striving to accelerate the global expansion of its core businesses and has been breaking sales records every year for the past five years. We will continue to capture business opportunities in the global market and take a leap forward as a 'global top-tier' company with aggressive investment strategies and innovation." said Baek Bok-In, CEO of KT&G.