[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] Lotte Fine Chemical announced on the 28th that its operating profit for the first quarter of this year fell 30.4% year-on-year to 35.5 billion KRW. Sales for the same period decreased by 1.7% to 343.9 billion KRW.
Although sales and operating profit declined due to decreased demand caused by the impact of COVID-19, compared to the previous quarter, sales and operating profit increased thanks to the rise in international prices of chlorine-related products amid overall economic recovery and the expansion of sales volume of cellulose-related products. The operating profit margin was maintained at around 10.3%.
Lotte Fine Chemical plans to complete investments totaling 140 billion KRW in the high value-added specialty business in the first half of this year as scheduled. Notably, this includes a 115 billion KRW investment to expand the Mesellos (a cement additive for construction) factory in the cellulose product line and a 23.9 billion KRW investment to expand the Anycoat (pharmaceutical capsule raw material) factory.
Lotte Fine Chemical stated, "Although profits decreased in the first quarter compared to the previous year due to the impact of COVID-19, continuous performance improvement is expected as major products enter the peak season in the second quarter and the operation of expanded factories in the second half of the year is fully underway."
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