Lotte Chemical 48th Annual General Meeting of Shareholders
Lee Hoon-ki, CEO of Lotte Chemical, stated on the 26th, "In the short term, we will focus on generating surplus cash flow to primarily secure financial soundness," adding, "The secured funds will be invested in future growth engines such as the hydrogen energy business and battery materials business."
After the 48th regular shareholders' meeting held at Lotte World Tower in Songpa-gu, Seoul, Lee told reporters, "We plan to reduce investments in the existing (petrochemical) business."
He said, "Regarding the secondary battery materials business, with the U.S. presidential election approaching and ongoing geopolitical conflicts, we are reviewing investments more cautiously than last year," but added, "However, the basic policy is to expand and invest in global business capabilities."
Lee Hoon-ki, President and CEO of Lotte Chemical Photo by Lotte Chemical
He also revealed plans regarding the recently discussed sale of overseas subsidiaries. Lee said, "Although the sale of the Pakistan subsidiary fell through, the company's strategic position remains the same," and added, "We plan to reattempt the sale at an appropriate time this year." He explained, "We signed the main sales contract early last year, but the management environment changed within a year, leading the buyer to exercise contractual rights."
Regarding rumors about the sale of Malaysia's LC Titan, Lee said, "Nothing has been decided," but added, "Overall, the competitiveness of the petrochemical business has deteriorated more than ever before, so we are considering various strategic options through business restructuring and improving our business structure."
Regarding this year's performance, he expected a slight rebound after hitting the bottom in the first quarter. Lee said, "It will be difficult to turn a profit this year, but I think the first quarter will be the bottom." He continued, "Unlike in the past, a full recovery is hard to expect," and predicted, "Performance will improve in the second half compared to last year."
Regarding the goal to increase high-value-added specialty sales from 7 trillion won in 2021 to 18 trillion won (60% of total sales) by 2030, Lee said, "We plan to set a slightly more aggressive target than last year and execute it thoroughly." He added, "Until last year, there was a gap in communication with the market regarding the portfolio of specialty, general petrochemicals, and new businesses," and said, "This year, we will divide the entire chemical portfolio into five categories and boldly reduce the proportion of general petrochemicals to less than half."
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