Posco Chemical posts record quarterly sales, OP in Q3

Posco Chemical¡¯s sales crossed 1 trillion won ($693 million) quarterly for the first time in the third quarter with record operating profit, driven by strong sales of electric vehicle battery materials.

The battery materials unit of South Korea¡¯s steel giant Posco Holdings said Monday it posted a quarterly record high operating profit of 81.8 billion won in the three months to September on a consolidated basis, up 159.9 percent from a year ago and 48.1 percent from a quarter ago. Sales reached 1.05 trillion won, up 108.6 percent from the same period a year earlier and 31.1 percent from the previous quarter. It was the first time that the company¡¯s sales have exceeded 1 trillion won.

The company¡¯s battery materials division recorded 726.7 billion won in sales, up 238.9 percent on year and 56.3 percent on quarter, thanks to a surge in sales of cathode and anode materials and their higher unit prices. The company also collected 69 percent of its entire sales from battery materials business versus 42.5 percent in the previous year.

Sales in the cathode materials division recorded 658.3 billion won, up 57.4 percent from the previous quarter thanks to the strong demand from EV battery and energy storage systems.

The anode material division posted 68.4 billion won in sales in the third quarter, up 47.1 percent from the previous quarter. The overall sales volume increased by 27 percent on quarter thanks to the increased sales of electric vehicle battery products.

Posco Chemical said it is actively promoting cooperation and preemptive investment in the raw materials sector with Posco Group companies in response to rising protectionist supply chain barriers, including the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

Posco Chemical and General Motors already agreed to establish Ultium Cells, a material joint venture for high nickel cathode, in Quebec, Canada. Posco Chemical aims to complete the plant by the second half of 2024. It is also seeking to expand its anode and cathode materials business in North America, Europe, and China in partnership with various business partners such as global electric vehicle and battery companies.

Posco Chemical plans to complete the entire EV battery materials value chain from raw materials, intermediate materials, and final products for cathode and anode materials based on various investments to secure raw material procurement and global production capacity. The company wants to expand its production capacity to 340,000 tons of cathode materials and 170,000 tons of anode materials by 2025, and 610,000 tons of cathode materials and 320,000 tons of anode materials by 2030.

Posco Chemical is the only Korean supplier that can produce both cathode and anode products.

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