Amid the ongoing slump in the construction sector and uncertainty in the real estate market, Daewoo Engineering & Construction is focusing on securing cash and pursuing a profitability-centered selective order-taking strategy rather than expanding its scale. The company is also accelerating the expansion of new businesses such as data centers, nuclear power, and energy, moving away from a housing-centered business structure and pushing for a shift in its business portfolio.

According to the first-quarter report disclosed by Daewoo E&C on the 15th, consolidated sales came to KRW 1,951.4 billion. The building works division accounted for KRW 1,273.2 billion, or 65.2% of the total, followed by civil engineering at KRW 350.5 billion and plant at KRW 284 billion.

The most notable aspect of this report is cash. As of the end of the first quarter, cash and cash equivalents stood at KRW 2,022.4 billion, up about KRW 193.5 billion from KRW 1,828.8 billion at the end of last year. The construction industry is currently facing a structure in which cash is drying up due to overlapping issues of project financing (PF) distress, unsold housing inventory, and rising construction costs.

Daewoo E&C stated in the report, “We are managing the key risks in the value chain, such as unsold units and move-in risks, in an integrated manner from a cash flow perspective,” adding, “We will improve liquidity through collection of accounts receivable and close monitoring of cash flow.”

The order-taking strategy has also changed. In the civil engineering division, the company said it would “selectively win high-quality public projects with secured profitability,” while the building division is focusing on strengthening risk management and stabilizing liquidity. The Building Business Division is concentrating on securing profitability this year, centered on key redevelopment projects in Seoul and the greater metropolitan area and on its own development projects.

A Daewoo E&C representative explained, “We are securing construction rights in redevelopment projects in key locations in Seoul and the metropolitan area, as well as in private-participation bidding projects such as the 3rd New Towns,” adding, “We are maintaining a stable portfolio through the full-scale recognition of revenue from highly profitable in-house projects.”

The current order backlog stands at around KRW 51,890.2 billion. A look at the detailed project list shows that large-scale urban redevelopment projects such as the Heukseok District 11 redevelopment ‘Summit The Hill,’ the Jangwi District 6 redevelopment ‘Prugio Radius Park,’ and the Sanseong District redevelopment ‘Sanseong Station Herri Stone’ are included. In the non-residential and mixed-use development segments, Cheongna Peak One Prugio, Namcheon-dong Summit Limited, and Seomyeon Summit The New are on the list, along with major infrastructure projects such as the GTX-B line and the undergrounding of the Dongbu Arterial Road.

The company also presented a strategy for expanding new businesses. First, it established a data center task force team (TFT) within the Building Business Division. With demand for data centers surging due to the expansion of the AI industry and growth of the cloud market, the move aims to strengthen competitiveness in the non-residential sector. Unlike ordinary office buildings, data centers require advanced cooling, power, and security technologies and can be linked to demand from global IT companies, making them a key future revenue source for the construction industry as a whole. Major builders such as Samsung C&T, Hyundai E&C, and GS E&C are also entering this market one after another.

In the plant division, its strategy for business diversification aligned with the energy transition stands out. The company has identified LNG, combined-cycle power, offshore wind power, and nuclear power as core growth pillars, with nuclear power in particular being highly specific. It unveiled plans to expand its participation in the Czech nuclear power project and broaden its business scope into next-generation nuclear segments such as small modular reactors (SMRs), nuclear decommissioning, and radioactive waste management. Daewoo E&C stated, “As power demand increases due to the expansion of the AI industry and the global energy transition trend, business opportunities are expanding mainly in the gas combined-cycle and nuclear power markets.”

In the offshore wind power sector, it also mentioned a strategy to secure a WTIV (Wind Turbine Installation Vessel). A WTIV is a specialized vessel that installs offshore wind turbines at sea, and there are still few companies in Korea that own such vessels. Given the strong potential for market expansion in line with the government’s renewable energy promotion policies, this is interpreted as a strategy to secure an early foothold. Overseas, the company plans to focus on profitability management through selective order-taking centered on key base countries, including the Mozambique LNG project.

Industry observers say construction companies have recently been shifting their management focus from simple competition in scale to cash flow and profitability-centered operations.

An industry official said, “As volatility in the housing market increases, major builders are increasingly expanding their portfolios into energy and infrastructure businesses such as data centers, nuclear power, LNG, and offshore wind power,” adding, “Daewoo E&C also appears to be seeking to secure mid- to long-term growth drivers by moving away from a housing-heavy structure.”

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