POSCO Future M Reports Q1 Operating Profit of 37.9 Billion KRW, Up 87% Year-on-Year

Sales Increased by 0.3% to 1.1384 Trillion Won

POSCO Future M announced on the 24th that it recorded sales of 1.1384 trillion KRW and an operating profit of 37.9 billion KRW in the first quarter of this year. Sales increased by 0.3% compared to the previous year, and operating profit rose by 87%.

POSCO Future M stated, "Although overall product prices declined due to stagnation in demand in the upstream market, we turned profitable thanks to production stabilization, increased supply volume, and reversal of inventory valuation losses."

The battery materials business recorded sales of 781.7 billion KRW and an operating profit of 25.1 billion KRW. The selling price of cathode materials fell compared to the previous quarter due to weakness in major metal prices such as lithium and nickel. Amid this, yield improvements in single-crystal cathode materials for high-performance electric vehicles and increased sales volume, along with increased production and sales of anode materials, improved profitability. A reversal of inventory valuation losses of 46.7 billion KRW, recognized as a valuation loss in the fourth quarter of last year, was reflected.

POSCO Future M Artificial Graphite Anode Material Factory
[Photo by POSCO Future M]

The basic materials business achieved sales of 356.7 billion KRW and an operating profit of 12.8 billion KRW. Although the selling price of chemical products declined due to weak oil prices in the fourth quarter of last year, sales volume of refractory materials increased.

Since becoming the first in Korea to mass-produce and supply NCMA high-nickel single-crystal cathode materials in March last year, POSCO Future M has focused on yield improvement, and profitability is improving as production at the Pohang plant, designed exclusively for single-crystal cathode materials, has been fully launched.

At the end of this month, a silicon-carbon composite (Si-C) anode material demo plant with an annual capacity of 50 tons was put into operation in the Yeongilman Industrial Complex in Pohang. Once mass production technology is secured, a production system of 1,000 tons in 2026 and 10,000 tons in 2030 will be established.

Silicon anode materials are next-generation materials expected to greatly contribute to the activation of electric vehicle adoption by significantly improving driving range and enabling fast charging, as they have more than four times the energy storage capacity compared to currently used graphite-based anode materials.