Hanwha Solutions Corp. said Thursday its second-quarter operating income fell 28.7 percent from a year earlier, due largely to faltering demand in chemical products.
Operating income reached 194.1 billion won (US$152.5 million) in the April-June period, compared with 272.3 billion won the previous year, the key energy unit of Hanwha Group said in a regulatory filing.
Revenue rose 4.1 percent on-year to 3.39 trillion won. Net profit was 47.5 billion won, down 80.6 percent from a year earlier.
The earnings fell behind market expectations. The average estimate of net profit by analysts stood at 113.1 billion won, according to a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency.
"We are concerned about a delay in the recovery of demand for chemicals, but we'll continue to work to improve earnings," Hanwha Solutions CFO Shin Yong-in said. "The margins for solar module sales contracted in Q2, but the profitability in the renewable energy should recover."
Hanwha Solutions, a major player in the solar panel and module markets in the United States, said the operating profit includes 27.9 billion won of tax credits it expects to receive under the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
It expects to see profits grow in the second half as the impact of the fall in wafer prices gradually appears and helps fuel module sales.
The renewable energy division logged 138 billion won in operating income, nearly quadrupling from the previous year's 35.2 billion won. Revenue rose 32 percent on-year to 1.63 trillion won.
The chemicals segment reported 49.2 billion won in operating profit for the second quarter, a 79.1 percent decrease from a year ago, on sales of 1.34 trillion won, which also marked a 16.1 percent on-year decline.
Shares in Hanwha Solutions fell 7.57 percent to 38,450 won on the main Seoul bourse Thursday, underperforming the broader KOSPI's 0.44 percent gain. The earnings results were released before the market closed.
Source: Yonhap News Agency