(Sisa Today, Sisa ON, Sisaon = Reporter from Bangul)
SK Innovation announced on the 29th that it had an operating deficit of KRW 2.568.8 billion last year.
During the same period, sales decreased by 30.7% to 34.16 trillion won, and net loss for the period turned to a deficit of 2.16 trillion won.
SK Innovation explained, “Sales volume declined due to sluggish global oil and chemical product demand, and profits declined due to lower margins for major products.”
By business, sales of the petroleum business recorded 22,6379 billion won and operating losses of 2,222.8 billion won. The chemical business recorded sales of KRW 7.54 trillion and operating loss of KRW 121.2 billion, and the lubricant business achieved sales of KRW 2,371.3 billion and operating profit of KRW 2622 billion. The sales and operating losses of the oil development business recorded 59.3 billion won and 4.8 billion won, respectively. The operating loss of the battery business was 4265 billion won and the operating profit of the materials business was 125.9 billion won.
Battery sales achieved trillions of sales for the first time ever. Last year, sales of the battery business reached 1.61 trillion won, more than doubled from the previous year’s 69.3 billion won.
SK Innovation predicted that when additional 20GWh plants are fully operational in Yancheng and Huizhou, China this year, the total production capacity will increase by about four times compared to the end of 2019 to a total of 40GWh, and the sales growth will continue.
SK Innovation explained that the sales volume increased significantly due to the stable operation of the first plant in Hungary and the plant in Changzhou, China, which started mass production in 2020. It also reported that sales volume is increasing and profitability is improving due to early stabilization of overseas plants.
Plants in Yancheng and Huizhou, China, are scheduled to begin mass production in the first quarter of this year. SK Innovation also plans to operate its second plant in Hungary with a capacity of 9.8 GWh from the first quarter of 2022 and the third plant from the first quarter of 2024. The 9.8GWh plant 1 under construction in Georgia, USA will begin mass production in the first quarter of 2022, and the 11.7GWh second plant will begin mass production in the first quarter of 2023.
SK Innovation aims to have a global battery production capacity of 85GWh by 2023 and 125GWh by 2025. It is a policy to continue aggressive investments in line with the rapid growth of electric vehicles by deciding to additionally increase capacity by 25GWh or more from 100GWh, which was the target for 2025.
In the materials business, we are continuing to expand overseas facilities for separators. Currently, the 530 million m2 plant in Cheongju and Jeungpyeong, Chungcheongbuk-do, and the 340 million m2 plant in China have been in operation since the end of last year and have an annual production capacity of 870 million m2. If overseas factories such as China and Poland operate sequentially, the production capacity is expected to reach 1.37 billion m2 by the end of this year and 1.87 billion m2 by 2023.
SK Innovation President Kim Joon said, “The company’s new growth business is realizing tangible results even in the worst business environment that has never been experienced due to Corona 19.” “This year, the first year of the full-scale implementation of the Financial Story, In the business as well, we will promote a total and fundamental innovation focused on eco-friendliness.”
On the other hand, SK Innovation decided not to pay dividends this year due to the deterioration of earnings due to Corona 19 and the expansion of investment in new growth businesses. “As shareholder-oriented management is an important value of SK Innovation, management performance and corporate value through new businesses, etc. In consideration of this, we are establishing a plan to return to shareholders in the mid- to long-term.”
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