Hankook & Company Posts Q2 Operating Profit of KRW 73.9 Billion, Driven by Lead-Acid Battery Business

Strengthening Core Competencies of Affiliates
Enhancing Battery Competitiveness

Hankook & Company, the business-oriented holding company of Hankook & Company Group, announced on August 14 that it recorded sales of KRW 343.8 billion and operating profit of KRW 73.9 billion in the second quarter. The company explained that both sales and operating profit decreased by 5.4% and 40.8%, respectively, compared to the same period last year, due to a decline in equity-method earnings.

The battery (lead-acid battery) business, which accounts for more than 75% of Hankook & Company’s total sales, continued its growth by achieving sales of KRW 268 billion in the second quarter, a 5.8% increase year-on-year.

Sales of the premium line ‘AGM (Absorbent Glass Mat)’ batteries have been continuously increasing. In the first half of the year, AGM battery sales rose by approximately 6% compared to the same period last year, and total battery sales also grew by about 10%, mainly in North America, driving the business’s growth.

Hankook & Company plans to flexibly respond to global market conditions in the second half of the year, when the impact of U.S. tariffs is expected to be in full effect, by utilizing its local production base in the United States. The company also intends to accelerate its efforts to expand in the European market.

A company representative stated, “As Hankook & Company Group has entered the top 30 business groups in Korea, we will strengthen our core function as a holding company by enhancing the core competencies of our affiliates, and further improve our battery competitiveness amid the recent challenging global environment.”

Hankook Tire & Technology reported consolidated second-quarter sales of KRW 5.3696 trillion and operating profit of KRW 353.6 billion. The company explained that it included the performance of Hanon Systems, which was incorporated as a subsidiary in the first quarter, and began recognizing purchase price allocation (PPA) from the second quarter.

Sales in the tire segment increased by 8.4% year-on-year to KRW 2.5114 trillion, while operating profit decreased by 17.5% to KRW 346.4 billion. Sales rose due to increased sales of replacement and original equipment tires for global car brands, as well as a higher proportion of high value-added products. However, operating profit declined due to higher raw material and shipping costs, as well as U.S. auto parts tariffs.

In the thermal management segment, Hanon Systems recorded sales of KRW 2.8581 trillion, an 11.7% increase year-on-year. Although operating profit decreased by 10.2% compared to the same period last year, it surged by 205.1% from the previous quarter to KRW 64.3 billion.

For the first half of the year, the proportion of high-inch (18 inches and above) tire sales for passenger cars and light trucks reached 47.2%, a 0.6 percentage point increase from the previous year. During the same period, the share of electric vehicle tires in original equipment tire sales for passenger cars and light trucks was 24%, a 7 percentage point increase from the previous year.