Solus Advanced Materials said on the 5th that last year it posted 616.4 billion won in sales and an operating loss of 71.5 billion won on a consolidation basis. Sales rose about 8% from the previous year (570.9 billion won) to an all-time high, but the loss widened from the previous year (54.4 billion won) due to weak copper foil for batteries business.
By business institutional sector, sales from the copper foil for batteries business were 183.7 billion won, down 26% from a year earlier. Chinese companies' market share increased in the electric vehicle market, and the suspension of North American electric vehicle subsidies reduced supply volumes to customers. Copper foil for batteries serves as a conduction pathway that carries current as the anode material in lithium-ion batteries.
The circuit foil business recorded sales of 306.5 billion won, up 56.2% from a year earlier. As the global artificial intelligence (AI) market expanded, supply of high-end products such as "ultra-low-light" copper foil for AI accelerators increased significantly. Circuit foil is used to form the circuitry of circuit boards that go into electronics such as TVs, smartphones and home appliances. The OLED division posted sales of 126.2 billion won, similar to a year earlier.
Solus Advanced Materials plans to complete the sale of the circuit foil division this year and focus its capabilities on the copper foil for batteries business. The overall sales target for 2026 is 533 billion won, with the batteries institutional sector at 394 billion won and the OLED institutional sector at 139 billion won.
The batteries institutional sector is expected to expand supply this year in the European electric vehicle market and the North American electric vehicle and energy storage system (ESS) markets. Solus Advanced Materials added four new customers last year, bringing the total to eight. Supply of copper foil for batteries to these customers will begin in the first half.
The company also plans to improve its cost structure and boost profitability through product advancement driven by market diversification. In particular, it plans to raise the share of high-end products from 30% last year to 50% this year. A Solus Advanced Materials official said, "Starting in the second quarter, new customers, including CATL, will be supplied mainly with high-end products," and added, "High-end copper foil for batteries for robot batteries is expected to be supplied to North American customers going forward."
Chief Executive Kwak Geun-man of Solus Advanced Materials said, "This year, as demand from existing customers recovers and supply to new customers ramps up, it will be a year that leads to tangible results," adding, "Beyond electric vehicles, we will pursue simultaneous sales growth based on performance improvement in the copper foil for batteries business through demand diversification to ESS and Humanoid Robot, and new OLED production bases, while laying the foundation for a turnaround through management efficiency."