SKC Achieves 1 Trillion Won in Sales for 2 Consecutive Quarters... "Expansion of High-Value Products" (Update)

Significant Improvement in Operating Profit of Copper Foil Business for Secondary Batteries

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Hyung-gil] SKC has achieved sales exceeding 1 trillion won for two consecutive quarters.

SKC announced on the 8th that its consolidated sales for the second quarter reached 1.0768 trillion won, a 30.2% increase compared to the same period last year. Although the operating profit for the second quarter was 109.4 billion won, down 19.0% from the same period last year, the cumulative operating profit for the first half of this year reached 242.4 billion won, a 10.5% increase from the previous year.

SKC showed balanced sales growth across all business divisions. SK Nexilis, an investor in the copper foil business for secondary batteries, recorded sales of 199.5 billion won and an operating profit of 29.6 billion won. Sales increased by 26.6% and operating profit by 57.4% compared to the previous year, continuing its growth trend.

The chemical business centered on SK PIC Global posted sales of 412.3 billion won and an operating profit of 69.5 billion won. Although demand for propylene oxide (PO) products decreased compared to the previous quarter, sales of high value-added products such as propylene glycol (PG) and polyol, raw materials for polyurethane, increased, helping to defend performance.

The semiconductor materials business, including SK Solmics, recorded sales of 135.6 billion won and an operating profit of 6.3 billion won. Operating profit increased compared to the previous quarter due to strong sales of high value-added products. SK Solmics plans to complete customer certification for blank masks, a key material in semiconductor lithography processes, and start commercial production in the third quarter.

The industrial materials business division recorded sales of 321.1 billion won and an operating profit of 15.0 billion won by expanding the proportion of eco-friendly and high value-added products. In the third quarter, it plans to secure profitability by expanding sales of high value-added products such as organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display materials and eco-friendly eco-labels.

An SKC official said, "We have consistently improved financial performance by achieving quarterly sales exceeding 1 trillion won for two consecutive quarters in the first half and enhancing profitability in the copper foil business for secondary batteries. We have also expanded ESG (environment, social, governance) management achievements, including improving ESG evaluation grades and disclosing interim targets for greenhouse gas net zero," adding, "We will continue innovation toward becoming a global ESG materials solution company."