Due to Front Market Slowdown... Price Stabilization Expected in Second Half
"Domestic Investment of 1.2 Trillion Won... Strengthening Fundamentals through Cost Innovation"
Ecopro posted a loss in the second quarter of this year.
On the 31st, Ecopro announced that it recorded consolidated sales of 864.1 billion KRW and an operating loss of 54.6 billion KRW in the second quarter. Compared to the same period last year, sales decreased by 57.2%, and operating profit fell from 170.3 billion KRW to a loss. Ecopro explained the turnaround to a loss was due to "a slowdown in product sales and increased material costs such as lithium."
Ecpro BM, a subsidiary producing cathode materials, achieved sales of 809.5 billion KRW and an operating profit of 3.9 billion KRW. Sales and operating profit decreased by 57.5% and 96.6%, respectively, compared to the previous year. The company stated that "the return of inventory valuation reserves helped maintain a profit trend."
EcoPro Pohang Campus view. The vacant lot on the left is the currently developing 4th campus. [Photo by EcoPro]
Ecopro Materials, which produces precursors, recorded sales of 66.7 billion KRW and an operating loss of 3.7 billion KRW in the second quarter. Sales dropped by 76.9% year-on-year, and operating profit turned into a loss. The company said, "The scale of operating loss decreased compared to the first quarter (loss of 13 billion KRW) due to factors such as the rise in the KRW-USD exchange rate."
Ecopro HN, the only domestic operator reducing harmful gases and removing greenhouse gases, posted sales of 46.8 billion KRW and an operating profit of 3.6 billion KRW in the second quarter. Sales and operating profit decreased by 17.2% and 67.9%, respectively, compared to a year ago.
Ecopro expects a recovery trend in the third quarter of this year. Ecopro stated, "Although product sales volume is declining due to weakened upstream demand, the recent narrowing of the price drop for cathode materials suggests that prices will stabilize in the third quarter."
Ecopro plans to continue investing proactively in the secondary battery market post-chasm. It will proceed with domestic facility expansions as scheduled, including precursor plants (CPM3 and CPM4) planned for mass production next year, and accelerate securing external customers.
Through equity investments to secure key mineral resources such as nickel in Indonesia, Ecopro will continuously strengthen the competitiveness of the battery material ecosystem.
Additionally, it will continue investing in the European market, which has become a battleground for the global electric vehicle market. Ecopro is constructing a plant with an annual capacity of 54,000 tons in Debrecen, Hungary, targeting mass production next year. Recently, Ecopro secured approximately 1.2 trillion KRW in funding for the Hungarian plant construction through an Export Credit Agency (ECA).
An Ecopro official said, "We are strengthening internal management through cost innovation while simultaneously making efforts to reinforce future growth engines such as securing resources like nickel and diversifying customers."
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