[Edaily Reporter Park Jung-Soo ] The largest shareholder, key executives, and employees of WELCRON HANTEC CO.,LTD.(076080)have been purchasing company shares one after another in an effort to strengthen responsible management.
WELCRON HANTEC CO.,LTD. announced on the 2nd that its largest shareholder, Welcron Company Limited, has purchased a total of 439,573 shares of the company’s stock on the open market since last May. As a result, Welcron Company Limited’s shareholding increased to 6,265,682 shares, and its ownership stake expanded from 25.79% to 27.73%.
Management also participated in the share purchases. CEO Lee Young-kyu has purchased a total of 355,071 shares on the open market since June. Co-CEO Kang Young-gil, inside directors Shin Jeong-jae and Jeong Seong-sik, and auditor Song Young-seop also acquired an additional 10,008 shares, 120,450 shares, 109,230 shares, and 41,600 shares, respectively.
Consequently, as of the 1st, the combined shareholding of the largest shareholder and related parties stood at 8,761,264 shares, an increase of 1,066,185 shares from the beginning of the year. Their ownership stake rose from 34.06% to 38.78%.
Employees have also begun purchasing company shares. The WELCRON HANTEC CO.,LTD. Employee Stock Ownership Association recently acquired 395,254 shares of the company.
The company explained that these share purchases are in line with the recent trend toward business normalization. WELCRON HANTEC CO.,LTD. recently resolved the burden of assuming approximately 42.5 billion won in project financing (PF) debt related to the Sihwa MTV development project. As a result, approximately 19 billion won in previously set aside provisions was reversed, and the company returned to profitability, posting a consolidated net income of 17.2 billion won for the first half of the year.
New orders are also coming in. WELCRON HANTEC CO.,LTD. recently secured a contract for the new construction of “Buk Wirye Village,” a project being pursued by KB Golden Life Care. With a contract value of approximately 80 billion won, the company will now undertake major projects for KB Golden Life Care in succession, following the Seocho and Eunpyeong projects.
A WELCRON HANTEC CO.,LTD. official stated, “With the financial uncertainties related to Sihwa MTV resolved and the company returning to profitability in the first half, we have laid the groundwork for normalizing operations,” adding, “Based on responsible management by our largest shareholder and executive team, we will strengthen our core business competitiveness while fostering mid- to long-term growth engines.”
The official continued, “We plan to strengthen our competitiveness in the environmental plant business by leveraging the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) capabilities we have accumulated in the fields of water treatment, waste treatment and resource recovery, and power generation and energy,” adding, “We will expand our business scope with a focus on high-growth sectors such as industrial water treatment and resource recycling.”