Hanwha Solutions' Operating Profit Last Year 378.3 Billion KRW... 6.8% Increase Year-on-Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Park So-yeon] Hanwha Solutions announced on the 20th that its consolidated operating profit for last year was tentatively estimated at 378.3 billion KRW, a 6.77% increase compared to the previous year.

Sales increased by 5.05% year-on-year to 9.5033 trillion KRW. The net loss turned to 248.9 billion KRW due to the full write-off of polysilicon facilities and other factors.

The operating profit for the fourth quarter was 30 billion KRW, turning to a profit compared to an operating loss of 95.9 billion KRW in the same period last year. Sales and net loss for this quarter were 2.4517 trillion KRW and 503.1 billion KRW, respectively.

Hanwha Solutions also held a board meeting on the same day and decided to repurchase and cancel 1% of the total issued shares as treasury stock. It resolved to pay a dividend of 200 KRW per common share (250 KRW per preferred share). The total amount of treasury stock cancellation and dividends corresponds to 63.1 billion KRW based on the closing price of the previous day.

Hanwha Solutions explained, "Despite recording a net loss last year, the decision to cancel shares and pay dividends was made to continue a shareholder-friendly policy."

By business segment, the solar power division recorded operating profits for four consecutive quarters last year, achieving an annual operating profit of 223.5 billion KRW.

This is the highest annual operating profit since Hanwha entered the solar power business in 2010.

The company analyzed that this was due to significantly increasing the proportion of mono (monocrystalline) solar cells, which have better power generation efficiency compared to multi (polycrystalline) solar cells, and focusing on major advanced markets such as the United States and Europe where solar cell selling prices are relatively high.

The chemical division saw double-digit declines in both sales (3.5264 trillion KRW) and operating profit (174.9 billion KRW) compared to the previous year due to the global economic slowdown.

Despite a drop in raw material costs such as ethylene, the overall demand decrease caused a sharp decline in selling prices of main products like polyethylene and PVC.

The advanced materials division, which produces automotive parts, saw a slight increase in operating loss (30.7 billion KRW) compared to the previous year due to the sluggish automotive industry, its upstream sector.

Regarding the first quarter performance this year, Hanwha Solutions forecasted that despite demand contraction caused by the spread of the novel coronavirus, earnings would improve compared to the previous quarter based on increased operating rates following the completion of regular maintenance and sustained demand in the solar power division.