The purpose of the winglet is to reduce the lift-induced drag.

However, the winglet does not contribute to the lift and so has parasite drag.
Lift-induced drag is inversely proportional to the square of the velocity which
means as the aircraft moves faster,
the lift-induced drag comes down drastically. The parasite drag force is directl
y proportional to the velocity of
the aircraft.
What this means is that the winglet is a tradeoff,
it is advantageous only when the gains of a lowering the lift-induced drag offse
ts the losses
of the additional skin drag and weight. Usually this is the case in short haul f
lights or aircrafts
that operate well within the transonic speeds. That is why you dont see winglets
in all aircrafts.
It has very litle to do with imperfections in retrofit. The raked wingtip is a m
uch more efficient
design when it comes to reduction of induced drag.
Still confused, ask yourself why a combat aircraft doesn't have winglet!