Hanwha Solutions Reports 1Q Operating Profit of 159 Billion KRW, Up 62% YoY (Comprehensive)

[Asia Economy Reporter Park So-yeon] Hanwha Solutions recorded relatively solid performance in the first quarter of this year despite the spread of the COVID-19 infection.

Hanwha Solutions announced on the 12th that it recorded consolidated sales of 2.2484 trillion KRW and operating profit of 159 billion KRW in the first quarter of this year. Compared to the same period last year, sales increased by 0.5% and operating profit rose by 62%. Net profit amounted to 64 billion KRW, down about 47% year-on-year due to equity method losses caused by YNCC's turnaround to deficit. Compared to the fourth quarter of last year, sales decreased by 8.3%, while operating profit increased by 430%.

Looking at the first quarter performance by business segment, the Chemical division recorded sales of 830.4 billion KRW and operating profit of 55.9 billion KRW. Sales decreased by 1.8% year-on-year due to the decline in demand for petrochemical products caused by the spread of COVID-19. Operating profit increased by 4.1% as the product spread (margin) expanded due to a drop in raw material prices following the weakness of international oil prices.

The Solar division recorded sales of 905.7 billion KRW, up 14% from the same period last year, and operating profit of 100.9 billion KRW, more than doubling. The solar operating profit margin in the first quarter (11.1%) is the highest since Hanwha entered the solar business in 2010. It is also the first time since the second quarter of 2016 (111 billion KRW) that quarterly operating profit exceeded 100 billion KRW. This is thanks to the production line transition (multi → mono) that started in the second quarter of last year and was virtually completed by the end of last year, as well as increased sales in the premium US market.

The Advanced Materials division recorded sales of 190.5 billion KRW and an operating loss of 5.7 billion KRW due to the suspension of operations by domestic and overseas automakers caused by the spread of COVID-19.

A Hanwha Solutions official said, “The impact of COVID-19 on performance in the first quarter was not as significant as expected,” adding, “From the second quarter, the impact of global demand contraction due to the widespread spread of COVID-19 in the US and Europe is expected to affect performance to some extent.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.