New Demand for Hydrogen and Carbon Capture
Promotion of Productivity Expansion in Existing Projects
Unid, the world's No.1 potassium-based chemical product market share holder, succeeded in turning a profit in the fourth quarter of last year.
Unid announced on the 31st that it recorded an operating profit of 21.5 billion KRW in the fourth quarter of last year, turning from a 9 billion KRW loss in the same quarter of the previous year. Sales amounted to 247.3 billion KRW, a 28.6% decrease compared to the previous year.
Regarding the main factors for the improvement in operating profit, Unid explained, "By the end of the third quarter, all high-priced raw material inventory was depleted, and from the fourth quarter, low-priced raw materials were used, restoring normal profitability as in previous years."
Last year, on a consolidated basis, sales were 1.1337 trillion KRW, and operating profit was 32.2 billion KRW. These represent decreases of 78.2% and 19.3%, respectively, compared to the previous year.
Unid plans to start operating a new CPs (Chlorinated Paraffin Wax) plant at its Chinese subsidiary in the second quarter of this year. To expand its market share in China, it is promoting a new 180,000-ton potassium hydroxide plant construction project in Yichang, Hubei Province, China.
It has also set a goal to build a new 90,000-ton plant by the end of 2024 and start operations in the first quarter of 2025. Additionally, to secure demand for the new plant, it has been exporting some potassium products from its Korean subsidiary to the Chinese market since last year.
To secure new growth engines, Unid recently made an equity investment worth 11 billion KRW in Solivis, a solid electrolyte specialist company for all-solid-state batteries.
An Unid official stated, "Starting from the normalization of performance in the fourth quarter of last year, we will continue efforts to expand productivity in existing businesses in preparation for new demands such as hydrogen and carbon capture, as well as investments in ESG-related businesses and environmental fields."
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