This file photo shows Lotte Chemical Corp.’s Daesan factory in Seosan, about 150 kilometers southwest of Seoul.
SEOUL, May 11 (Korea Bizwire) — Lotte Chemical Corp. said Thursday it expects to generate at least 7 trillion won (US$5.26 billion) in annual revenue from its secondary battery components segment by 2030, as the recent acquisition of a local copper foil maker and other projects for a green transition will take hold.
“We think it’s possible to see at least 7 trillion won in sales in the secondary battery materials in 2030 after the acquisition of Lotte Energy Materials,” Kim Min-woo, head of Lotte Chemical’s strategy and planning division, said during an earnings call.
“Besides the copper foil, we’re targeting about 3 trillion won (in sales) from other component segments, like organic solvents, cathode foil and separator materials,” Kim said.
Lotte Chemical, the chemical arm of South Korean retail giant Lotte Group, took over Iljin Materials Co., now renamed Lotte Energy Materials, early this year as part of efforts to accelerate its push for the battery components business as one of its new growth engines.
The company said in May last year it will invest 37 trillion won over the next five years to advance into bio, mobility and green products, including 7 trillion won for battery components and advanced materials.
Lotte Chemical said it posted an operating loss of 26.2 billion won in the first quarter, remaining in the red for a fourth consecutive quarter, due largely to weak petrochemical demand.
Sales fell 9.5 percent on-year to 4.93 trillion won.
Despite the dismal earnings, the company said its profitability improved on wider margins from lower costs. Its net profit increased 94.4 percent on-year to 226.7 billion won in the January-March period.
“We expect that business conditions will be affected by a volatile global economy, but profitability will improve gradually as we enter the peak season,” Lotte Chemical said in a release.
The company said it has set aside 6.4 trillion won for this year’s capital spending and has expended 2.9 trillion won.
Shares in Lotte Chemical rose 3.31 percent to 175,000 won on the main Seoul bourse Thursday, outperforming the broader KOSPI’s 0.22 percent decline. The earnings results were released before the market closed.
(Yonhap)
