Gwangmu Surpasses 2.3 Billion KRW Operating Profit Last Year... Two Consecutive Quarters of Profit Streak

Gwangmu, a specialist company in secondary battery materials, announced on the 21st that its consolidated sales for last year reached 78.22139 billion KRW. This represents a 313% increase compared to the previous year's sales of 18.91992 billion KRW. This scale is the largest in 12 years since recording sales of 80.28467 billion KRW at the end of 2010 under the Korean International Financial Reporting Standards. Last year's operating profit turned positive, growing 428% to 2.37561 billion KRW from -724.74 million KRW the previous year.

Operating profit for the fourth quarter (October to December) last year was 2.2149 billion KRW, and for the third quarter (June to September) it was 174.12 million KRW, marking two consecutive quarters of profit. The cumulative order amount for lithium salts, which began at the end of May last year, was 55.19924 billion KRW as of March 21.

A Gwangmu representative explained, "The increase in distribution sales of secondary battery materials and the rise in business unit orders contributed to this growth. Additionally, restructuring non-core businesses including NI and SI businesses last year to focus on core businesses, as well as improvements in the internal control system, had a positive impact."

Sales from the secondary battery business, including the new lithium salt distribution business, amounted to 53.884 billion KRW, marking a successful debut in the first year of the business unit's launch.

Exports also increased. Exports accounted for 43% (34.029 billion KRW) of last year's sales. Gwangmu, previously a domestic company, diversified its export markets to the United States, Europe, and others, transforming into an export company by complying with product specifications, contract terms, and meeting customer requirements.

The representative stated, "We have secured customers with outstanding competitiveness in the global electrolyte market and secondary battery materials, which are less sensitive to economic fluctuations, so we expect stable orders this year as well. From the second half of this year, global battery manufacturers are expected to significantly increase supply of batteries for electric vehicles, leading to a surge in material demand."

Meanwhile, Gwangmu has announced a vision to evolve from a simple 'material distribution company' to a comprehensive material company encompassing material development and production, and is pursuing aggressive investments and M&A.