BK Tops Acquires Sangju Polysilicon Scrap and Non-Ferrous Metals, Expects Trading Profit Amid Strong Scrap Prices

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] BK Tops, a KOSPI-listed company, announced on the 9th that it has purchased machinery, ferrous and non-ferrous metals of the former Woongjin Group's Sangju Polysilicon (hereinafter Sangju Polysilicon) from Shilla Industry. The purchase price is approximately 31 billion KRW.

The company stated, "We used 30 billion KRW from convertible bond payments completed on the 2nd to acquire the related products," and added, "Sales related to Sangju Polysilicon are expected to begin next month."

Sangju Polysilicon is a factory completed in 2010 by Woongjin Group with a total investment of 730 billion KRW, aiming to produce 7,000 tons of polysilicon annually.

BK Tops plans to first sell the purchased machinery as used equipment, and sell the remainder as scrap metal in the form of ferrous and non-ferrous metals. The company is currently in the process of obtaining a recycling intermediate processing business license, which is expected to be completed by mid-next month.

Once the licensing process is completed, the sale of used equipment and ferrous/non-ferrous scrap will begin, and continuous sales related to Sangju Polysilicon are expected. The company plans to establish the recycling business as a dedicated division while reviewing similar additional projects.

According to the scrap metal industry, the average nationwide scrap metal price on the 9th was 355,000 KRW per ton (Weight A, arrival basis). This is approximately a 58% increase compared to the price of 225,000 KRW per ton in April last year. This rise is due to increased demand for scrap metal raw materials as major electric furnace companies have recovered production amid import restrictions following COVID-19.

A BK Tops official said, "Because large-scale funding was possible, we were able to purchase the related products under favorable conditions," and added, "We expect significant trading profits due to the strong scrap metal prices."