SK Group Senior Vice Chairman Chey Jae-won (2nd from R) tries on a digital health device developed by SK Biopharm while touring SK’s exhibition booth at CES 2023 in Las Vegas on Jan. 5, 2023. (Yonhap)
LAS VEGAS, Jan. 5 (Korea Bizwire) — SK On Co. is continuing to make best efforts for a turnaround in its battery business despite volatile market conditions, its co-chief said Thursday.
Chey Jae-won, senior vice chairman of SK Group and a co-chief of its battery-making arm, made the remarks at CES 2023 taking place in Las Vegas, commenting on the outlook for the loss-making unit amid an aggressive overseas push.
“I can’t say for sure since there are too many variables, but we’re putting a lot of efforts to achieve a turnaround at an early date,” Chey told reporters after touring the SK exhibition booth.
SK On, which was split off from SK Innovation Co., has remained in the red and is aiming for a turnaround by the fiscal fourth quarter of 2022. Many market watchers have bet the fourth-quarter turnaround would be possible.
Chey said the investment for this year will proceed as planned, in line with the “numbers that we have pledged to achieve.”
SK On is building two electric vehicle battery manufacturing plants in Kentucky and another in Tennessee in a joint venture with Ford Motor Co.
SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, the elder brother of Chey Jae-won, unveiled a plan in July last year to spend US$7 billion in the U.S. for EV batteries alone, in a virtual one-on-one meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden.
SK On’s operating loss narrowed to 134.6 billion won in the third quarter of last year from a 326.6 billion won loss the previous quarter, with sales growing to 2.19 trillion won from 906.2 billion won over the cited period.
SK On said in December it will raise a total of 2.8 trillion won (US$2.2 billion) from SK Innovation and a few other local private equity funds through a rights offering in a bid to secure funds for business expansion.
(Yonhap)
