Korea Zinc disclosed on the 9th that last year's operating profit on a consolidation basis was provisionally tallied at 1.2327 trillion won, up 70.3% from a year earlier.
During the same period, revenue was provisionally tallied at 16.5812 trillion won, up 37.6%, and net profit was provisionally tallied at 190.9 billion won, up 309%. These results for Korea Zinc last year are the largest since its founding.
Korea Zinc said it posted an annual operating surplus last year as well, achieving 44 consecutive years of operating surplus on its own tally. Since 2000, when quarterly earnings announcements became mandatory, it has recorded 104 consecutive quarters of operating surplus.
Also, last year's operating margin rose by 1.4 percentage points year over year to 7.4%. The company said it effectively responded to rising demand and prices by increasing recovery rates in key minerals and precious metals such as antimony, silver, and gold.
Korea Zinc said the antimony, indium, and bismuth it produces are essential materials for semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI), and the defense industry, and that silver, a basic industrial material, and gold, whose asset value has come into focus, are also drawing global attention.
It added that it is investing in facilities at the Onsan Smelter to additionally produce germanium and gallium, and that, together with the U.S. government, it is investing $7.4 billion (about 10.9 trillion won) to build an integrated smelter, laying the groundwork for continued growth.
A Korea Zinc official said, "Going forward, we will successfully lead key projects such as the upgrading of the Onsan Smelter, the construction of the Songdo R&D Center, and the construction of the U.S. integrated smelter, and we will steadily push ahead with plans to strengthen future competitiveness."