[IPO] '2nd Battery Recycling' Saevitchem, KOSDAQ Listing... "2024 Sales Target 100 Billion Won"

On the 20th, Park Min-gyu, CEO of Saevitchem, held a press conference in Yeouido, Seoul, to introduce the company for its KOSDAQ listing. / Photo by Saevitchem

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hyowon] Saevitchem, a specialized company in secondary battery recycling, is knocking on the door of the KOSDAQ market. Saevitchem plans to drive sales growth by expanding its production capacity to three times the current level after listing.

On the 20th, Park Mingyu, CEO of Saevitchem, held a press conference in Yeouido, Seoul, for the KOSDAQ listing and stated, “Along with the expansion of production facilities, we expect to record sales exceeding 100 billion KRW from 2024 through new businesses such as lithium carbonate, dry-type waste battery recycling, and solar panel waste recycling.”

Saevitchem operates a business that recycles waste acid generated from semiconductor and display processes to produce phosphate, a raw material for fertilizer. Currently, it also refines and separates cathode active materials from waste lithium-ion secondary batteries to supply raw materials for lithium secondary batteries used in electric vehicles.

Last year, the sales ratio by business was about 30% from waste acid recycling and approximately 70% from waste battery recycling. In particular, sales from the waste battery business surged 115% from 10.6 billion KRW in 2020 to 22.8 billion KRW.

Thanks to the waste battery business, Saevitchem recorded sales of 33.3 billion KRW and operating profit of 5.4 billion KRW last year. Recently, Saevitchem’s three-year average annual sales growth rate is 46%, and operating profit growth is 88%. The company also reported sales of 10.2 billion KRW and operating profit of 3.4 billion KRW in the first quarter of this year, expecting to achieve record-high performance again this year.

CEO Park explained, “Saevitchem’s high growth was driven by its proprietary multi-stage leaching technology, which achieves a precious metal recovery rate of about 95%. By simplifying the process to manufacture mixed solutions of nickel, cobalt, and other metals after removing impurities from recycled cathode materials, we lowered the cost of sales ratio to about 68%, which is below the industry average of 88%, thereby improving profit margins.”

Saevitchem plans to establish a third plant with the proceeds from this public offering. Starting in 2024, Saevitchem will supply large-scale precursor mixed solutions to LG Chem’s joint venture for ten years. Accordingly, it plans to expand its current production capacity (CAPA) of 6,000 tons to 18,000 tons by 2024, more than tripling it.

In addition, in the new business sector, Saevitchem will manufacture high value-added new products such as lithium carbonate. The company recently completed the development and patent application of a high-purity lithium carbonate extraction process technology, and sales are expected to begin as early as next year.

Furthermore, Saevitchem will expand its dry-type waste battery recycling business, which applies a process technology that shortens the processing period compared to existing methods, and the solar panel waste business, which is expected to generate more than 10,000 tons of waste panels annually from 2028. The company aims to continue growing as a global total recycling solution company in the future.

CEO Park said, “With this KOSDAQ listing as an opportunity, we will enhance our capabilities in the precursor mixed solution business and lithium carbonate and dry-type waste battery sectors to become a core company in the secondary battery circular economy. Furthermore, we will accelerate growth as a total recycling solution company recognized globally through technology advancement and overseas expansion.”

Meanwhile, Saevitchem’s total number of shares offered is 1.07 million, with a desired price band of 25,000 to 30,000 KRW, amounting to approximately 32.1 billion KRW based on the upper price limit. Demand forecasting will be conducted on July 20?21 to finalize the offering price, followed by subscription on July 26?27, aiming for a KOSDAQ listing on August 4. The lead underwriter is Korea Investment & Securities.

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