Operating profit at Hankook & Company, the business-type holding company of Hankook & Company Group, was roughly flat in the third quarter from a year earlier. However, operating profit in the battery business plunged 24% year over year due to the impact of U.S. tariffs.
On the 10th, Hankook & Company said third-quarter operating profit was 137.1 billion won, down 0.1% from a year earlier. Revenue was 384.7 billion won, up 0.9% from the same period a year earlier.
Compared with the second quarter, operating profit rose 85.6% and revenue increased 11.9%. Hankook & Company said, "The equity-method gains increased due to improved results, including higher global tire sales, while the financial burden on Hankook Tire & Technology eased as financial structure improved on cost improvements and operational efficiency efforts at Hanon Systems."
In the third quarter, revenue in Hankook & Company's battery (energy solutions) business fell 3.4% year over year to 241.0 billion won. Operating profit in the same period came to 13.6 billion won, down 24.0%. It is attributed to the impact of U.S. tariffs.
Hankook & Company said, "We are responding flexibly to the impact of U.S. tariffs through our only U.S. local production base in the lead-acid battery industry, and we continue to drive business growth, as third-quarter sales of our premium AGM batteries increased, centered on North America."