SKC Achieves First Quarterly Sales of 1 Trillion KRW... "Innovating Toward a Global ESG Material Solutions Company"

Q1 Sales 1.1206 Trillion KRW · Operating Profit 133 Billion KRW

"Copper Foil Sales Exceed 10,000 Tons
Launch of Gamified Plastic Separation and Disposal Information Platform"

Park Won-cheol, President and CEO of SKC. (Photo by SKC)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] SKC announced on the 10th that it achieved Q1 sales of 1.1206 trillion KRW and operating profit of 133 billion KRW. This is the first time quarterly sales exceeded 1 trillion KRW. Compared to Q1 last year, sales increased by 50.5% and operating profit by 57.6%.

On the morning of the same day, SKC held a Q1 business performance announcement at its headquarters in Jongno-gu, Seoul, attended by key executives including Lee Yongseon, Head of the Industry Materials Division; Choi Dohwan, Head of the Management Support Division; Choi Gapryong, Head of the ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) Promotion Support Group; Lee Jaehong, CEO of SK Nexilis; Won Gidon, CEO of SK PIC Global; Lim Eejun, CEO of MCNS; and Kim Jongwoo, CEO of SKC Solmix. The performance announcement was broadcast live on YouTube.

In Q1, SKC showed growth across all business divisions. SK Nexilis, an investor in the copper foil business for secondary batteries, recorded sales of 212.5 billion KRW and operating profit of 24.5 billion KRW. Through customer diversification, copper foil sales volume surpassed 10,000 tons per quarter for the first time. Following the groundbreaking of a 50,000-ton annual capacity plant in Malaysia in July last year, SK Nexilis began construction of a plant of the same scale in Poland in Q2, accelerating the establishment of a global production system.

The chemical business centered on SK PIC Global recorded sales of 434.8 billion KRW and operating profit of 86.1 billion KRW. Despite weak spreads of propylene oxide (PO) products, efforts to continuously expand sales of high value-added propylene glycol (PG) products and the consolidation effect of MCNS led to an 86% increase in sales compared to the previous year. In Q2, the company plans to maintain solid profitability by expanding sales in high value-added regions such as North America and Europe.

The Industry Materials Division posted sales of 335.4 billion KRW and operating profit of 28 billion KRW. Increased sales of high value-added products for advanced IT and display in Q1, along with growing sales of eco-friendly materials such as the eco-friendly heat-shrink packaging material ‘Eco Label,’ resulted in nearly double the operating profit compared to the same period last year. In Q2, the division plans to focus on eco-friendly and high value-added products while responding to market volatility such as rising raw material prices.

The semiconductor materials business centered on SKC Solmix recorded sales of 132.9 billion KRW and operating profit of 4.9 billion KRW. In particular, profitability improved with increased sales of CMP pads. In Q2, the company will maintain steady growth of CMP pads while expanding its customer base and conducting certification evaluations. Ceramic parts are expected to see an increased proportion of high value-added products due to customer process advancements.

ESG management is also being strengthened. Based on a financial agreement between SKC and the Korea Development Bank last year, SK Nexilis secured 500 billion KRW in European expansion investment funds last month. This transaction received the highest ESG certification grade (GL1) related to loans from Korea Credit Rating, recognizing the eco-friendliness of SKC’s copper foil business. On April 22, ‘Earth Day,’ SKC launched ‘My Green Place,’ a gamified smartphone application that provides accurate information on the separation and disposal of plastic waste in daily life, the first of its kind in Korea. Additionally, this year, SKC will expand the operation of an open platform based on new material technologies, which has been jointly operated with various specialized organizations since 2017 to support the commercialization of startups, ventures, and SMEs.

Governance has also been strengthened. After expanding the role of the board of directors by establishing the ESG Committee and the Internal Transactions Committee last year, SKC appointed an outside director as the chairperson of the board for the first time in March this year, further solidifying the independence of the board. Furthermore, a female outside director was appointed as chairperson of the Internal Transactions Committee, enhancing diversity within the board.

An SKC official said, “In Q1 this year, we achieved quarterly sales exceeding 1 trillion KRW for the first time in history and posted strong results across all business divisions. We also increased ESG management achievements by building platforms that encourage consumers to participate in the eco-friendly plastic ecosystem. We will continue to innovate our business model to grow as a ‘global ESG material solutions’ company.”