[Click e-Stock] "OCI Turns Profitable in Q4...Poised for Strong Growth This Year"

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Samsung Securities analyzed on the 10th that OCI fired the starting gun for earnings recovery by successfully returning to the black in the fourth quarter of last year. With increased sales of semiconductor materials and the recognition of deferred pitch volumes leading to improved profitability, the brokerage expects a more pronounced growth trend in 2026, backed by a recovery in the semiconductor and chemical industries.

Joo Hyunryul, a researcher at Samsung Securities, said regarding the fourth-quarter results, "In the fourth quarter of last year, revenue and operating profit came in at 467.3 billion won (down 2% quarter-on-quarter) and 5.2 billion won (up 15.5 billion won quarter-on-quarter), respectively," adding, "This was driven by improved profitability thanks to increased sales of semiconductor materials and pitch."

By business segment, the Basic Chemicals division led the earnings improvement. Semiconductor materials are estimated to have swung to a profit on the back of increased sales of polysilicon and hydrogen peroxide, while basic materials are also analyzed to have improved, supported by higher sales volumes and selling prices of CA and TDI.

Market attention is focused on the strength of the earnings recovery in 2026. Researcher Joo projected, "Not only the recovery in semiconductor market conditions, but also the benefits from an upturn in the TDI and BTX markets will positively contribute to the company’s strong operating profit growth in 2026."

In particular, he assessed that the benefit to materials from the recovery in the semiconductor cycle is highly likely to strengthen gradually on a quarterly basis. Researcher Joo said, "We expect the material upside from the semiconductor industry to be felt in the order of phosphoric acid, hydrogen peroxide, and polysilicon, and demand strength for phosphoric acid is already clearly being felt." Accordingly, OCI plans to expand its phosphoric acid production capacity (CAPA) by 20%, from 25,000 tons to 30,000 tons, through debottlenecking in the first half of this year.

There is also an assessment that the earnings trough has already passed. Researcher Joo predicted, "In the first quarter of this year, despite scheduled maintenance in the Basic Chemicals division, additional profit recovery will be possible through the normalization of Carbon Chemicals earnings and other factors," adding, "With the third quarter of last year as the trough, the quarterly earnings improvement trend is expected to continue throughout 2026."

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