LOTTE Chemical disclosed on the 12th that in the third quarter of this year it posted sales of 4.7861 trillion won and an operating loss of 132.6 billion won. Sales fell 5.8% from the same period last year (5.0802 trillion won), and the operating loss (417.4 billion won) narrowed by 68.2%, improving the deficit.
A LOTTE Chemical official said, "We are pushing structural business reorganization activities to secure mid- to long-term competitiveness and improve cash flow," and noted, "We plan to actively respond to the government's restructuring of the petrochemical industry, pursue the sale of non-core asset to secure competitiveness, and strengthen financial stability."
By business, the basic chemicals division, which includes LOTTE Chemical Basic Materials, LC Titan, LC USA, and LOTTE GS Chemical, recorded sales of 3.3833 trillion won and an operating loss of 122.5 billion won.
Profitability improved with the removal of one-off expense following the end of regular maintenance and the stabilization of lower feedstock prices. The company projected that feedstock prices will likely remain stable in the fourth quarter as well, but that weak global demand will continue.
The advanced materials division posted sales of 1.0222 trillion won and operating profit of 57.5 billion won. Despite reduced demand in downstream industries and conservative inventory operations, it maintained solid profitability by expanding sales of high value-added products. Entering the seasonally slow fourth quarter, sales volume is expected to decline due to the impact of regular maintenance.
LOTTE Fine Chemical recorded sales of 443.4 billion won and operating profit of 27.6 billion won. Profitability improved thanks to a rise in international prices of chlorine-series products and the effect of the end of regular maintenance. In the fourth quarter, it plans to expand sales centered on high value-added products.
LOTTE Energy Materials reported sales of 143.7 billion won and an operating loss of 34.3 billion won. Despite inventory adjustments and efforts to improve productivity, losses persisted due to adjustments by client companies. In the fourth quarter, it plans to continue expanding strategic sales of high value-added circuit foil for artificial intelligence (AI) and battery foil for energy storage systems (ESS).