[미디어SR 이승균 기자] While Tesla, an electric vehicle company in the US, achieved its first annual surplus for the first time since its inception, there are growing expectations that the electric vehicle and secondary battery rear industries will turn to the black (turn around).
On the 28th, Tesla announced in an earnings report that it made a profit of $721 million (796.7 billion won) last year. Tesla lost 952.5 billion won in 2019, but this year succeeded in achieving an annual surplus thanks to strong EV sales despite Corona 19.
LG Chem, which ranked first in the market share of the secondary battery for electric vehicles in July last year, announced on the 28th that it recorded the highest sales ever, surpassing 30 trillion won in annual sales for the first time last year. Operating profit reached 2,354.2 billion won, an 185.1% increase over the previous year.
LG Chem succeeded in turning to the black in the battery business in the second quarter of last year. This is the result of strong EV sales in Europe and China, and large-scale energy storage (ESS) projects in North America.
LG Chem entered the electric vehicle battery industry in 2000. Excluding the one-off surplus of the automobile battery division in the fourth quarter of 2018, it has successfully turned into a full-fledged surplus after 20 years.
Samsung SDI, which mainly took batteries in 2010, is also expected to turn to the black in the battery business in the first quarter of this year. According to the announcement on the 28th, Samsung SDI posted a record-high sales of 11,294.8 billion won last year thanks to the spread of electric vehicles.
Samsung SDI recorded sales growth of 11.9% in the battery business alone. Samsung SDI achieved sales of over 11 trillion won by improving performance in the mid- to large-sized battery industry such as ESS as well as small and medium-sized batteries.
On the other hand, SK Innovation posted an operating deficit of 2.568.8 billion won last year. The company explained that despite the global petroleum and chemical market slowdown, the performance deteriorated, but the battery division grew.
POSCO Chemical, which produces cathode materials and anode materials, which are essential materials for rechargeable batteries, is showing explosive growth in the rear industry, with sales of electric vehicles growing 144% year-on-year to KRW 533.3 billion last year.
Research Fellow Seo Dong-hyuk of Industry Research Institute told Media SR, “According to the increasing demand for electric vehicles, automobile manufacturers are rapidly building a platform for exclusive use of batteries, and US President Joe Biden’s attempts to restore the battery and electric vehicle industries in their home countries revitalized the market as a whole. There is” he explained.
He added, “However, it is highly likely that competition in the battery market for electric vehicles will intensify further due to the expansion of investments by Chinese companies, the promotion of independent battery production in Europe, and the internalization of batteries by electric vehicle makers, which could trigger price cut pressure.”