EcoPro BM said on the 5th that last year it returned to profit, posting 2.5338 trillion won in sales on a consolidation basis, down 8% from a year earlier, and 142.8 billion won in operating profit.
Operating profit improved on investment gains in Indonesia and a recovery in fourth-quarter sales of cathode materials for European electric vehicles. The EcoPro group acquired a 10% equity stake in the PT ESG smelter, one of the smelters in Indonesia's IMIP (Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park). Fourth-quarter sales of cathode materials for electric vehicles came to 308.8 billion won, up 4% from the previous quarter.
EcoPro BM plans to focus on overseas business starting this year. Its Hungary plant will begin commercial production in the first half of the year. The cathode materials plant's production capacity (CAPA) is 54,000 tons per year.
It also plans to expand its product portfolio from premium to mass-market to meet potential demand. EcoPro BM is operating a pilot plant for "solid electrolyte," a key material for all-solid-state batteries, and is conducting quality verification with customers.
Kim Jang-woo, EcoPro BM's managing representative, said, "With the start of commercial production at the Hungary plant, we plan to accelerate efforts to win major European carmakers as customers," adding, "We plan to increase investment in developing future battery materials to be applied to robots."