SY Achieves Record High Performance... "Dominance in Refractory Products Market Drives Growth"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hyowon] Comprehensive building materials company ESWY recorded its highest sales performance in the first half of the year. The steady upward trend continues due to increased demand for fire-resistant materials following the strengthening of fire safety laws and balanced growth in domestic and overseas business sites.

ESWY announced on the 16th that its consolidated sales for the second quarter reached 151.1 billion KRW, operating profit was 5.5 billion KRW, and net profit was 8.8 billion KRW, representing a 39.8% increase in sales and a 36.6% increase in net profit compared to the same period last year.

Even in the first quarter, which is typically the off-season, strong performance led to cumulative sales for the first half increasing by 48.5% year-on-year to 267.8 billion KRW, marking the highest sales performance ever. Cumulative net profit for the first half also rose 10.1% year-on-year to 10.2 billion KRW. Given the industry characteristic where sales and net profit improve toward the second half, strong performance is expected for the full year.

ESWY’s core business is the manufacturing and distribution of sandwich panels. The demand for fire-resistant sandwich panels has increased due to the mandatory use of semi-noncombustible core materials for building exterior materials, which was enacted at the end of last year, leading to improved performance. On-site, the supply of fire-resistant products is so tight that construction periods are extended due to difficulties in securing these materials.

As the only listed company in the industry, ESWY boasts the largest production capacity, ensuring stable raw material supply, and holds numerous new product technologies related to fire-resistant products, thereby strengthening its market dominance.

Recently, ESWY became the first in the industry to obtain semi-noncombustible and fire-resistant certification for mineral wool panels, increasing the supply of fire-resistant products. ESWY was the first in Korea to pass fire resistance tests with urethane panels and is currently only awaiting the issuance of the test report. Although urethane panels, mainly used in cold storage due to their excellent insulation performance, have been phased out of the market due to poor fire safety, the fireproofing of urethane panels is expected to further increase ESWY’s market share. Currently, the sandwich panel market forms an annual market size of approximately 2 trillion KRW.

A company official stated, “ESWY is leading the development of safe, high-performance building materials, such as jointly developing Korea’s first 2-hour fire-resistant cleanroom panel with Samsung Engineering. Sandwich panels, used in various advanced facilities like semiconductor factories, are expected to see market restructuring focused on large companies capable of stable production and supply due to product specification upgrades. We will focus on strengthening market dominance and creating synergies with related businesses.”

Meanwhile, besides sandwich panels, ESWY possesses top-level technology and production infrastructure for deck plates, rooftop solar panels, and urethane insulation materials. The company continues to expand its market by establishing production subsidiaries in developing countries such as Vietnam, Nepal, and Cambodia.