Lotte Fine Chemical Posts Q3 Operating Profit of 27.6 Billion Won, Up 168% Year-on-Year

Lotte Fine Chemical announced on November 6 that, on a consolidated basis, its provisional sales for the third quarter of this year reached 443.4 billion won, with operating profit at 27.6 billion won. Compared to the same period last year, sales increased by 5.5%, and operating profit surged by 168.0%, showing significant improvement.

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A representative from Lotte Fine Chemical explained, "The improvement in third-quarter performance was mainly due to the increase in international prices of ECH, a chlorine-based epoxy resin raw material, as well as the rise in the price of glycerin, which is used as a raw material by ECH competitors."

Lotte Fine Chemical is focusing on strengthening its competitiveness in the cellulose business to expand its high-value specialty business portfolio. In the fourth quarter, the company will complete a 79 billion won investment to expand its pharmaceutical and food-grade cellulose plant, laying the foundation for increased sales in the pharmaceutical and food business. Additionally, it plans to complete the acquisition of the Hecellose plant, which produces additives for paint, personal care, and oil drilling industries, for 127 billion won, aiming to reduce costs and improve operational efficiency.

Jung Seungwon, CEO of Lotte Fine Chemical, stated, "In the third quarter, we saw a notable structural improvement in the profitability of chlorine-based ECH." He added, "In the fourth quarter, we plan to successfully complete the construction of the pharmaceutical and food-grade cellulose plant and the acquisition of the Hecellose plant to further strengthen our high-value specialty portfolio."

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